Traders indicated that the RBI is believed to have sold between $3 billion and $5 billion in both spot and non-deliverable forward markets on Wednesday to support the rupee, marking its most extensive intervention in several months.
Estimates were provided by seven traders from various private, public, and foreign banks, with two of them citing sales of $5 billion due to notable activity in the non-deliverable forward market. The RBI did not reply to a request for comments sent via email.
These interventions allowed the rupee to achieve its largest single-day gain in four months on Wednesday. The upward trend continued into Thursday, with the currency reaching an intraday peak of 87.70 per U.S. dollar.
Recent weeks have seen the rupee come under strain because of harsh U.S. tariffs, declining equity inflows, and heightened demand for gold imports. Before the central bank’s intervention, the rupee was trading close to its all-time low of 88.80.
Determining the precise extent of the RBI’s intervention is challenging, as it operates through various state-run banks, and measuring non-deliverable forward activity is even more complex.
Traders base their estimates of intervention levels on market volumes, price movements, and the actions of banks managing RBI transactions. Brokers provide insights after market closure on the volumes executed by specific banks.
