RBI sold net $20.23 billion in spot forex market in November, shows bulletin

This ratio will need to be disclosed on a daily basis

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold net $20.23 billion in the spot foreign exchange market in November, according to the central bank’s monthly Bulletin.

The central bank in the Bulletin said that it purchased $30.88 billion and sold $51.11 billion during the period. In October, the central bank had sold a net of $9.28 billion in the spot market.

The RBI Bulletin is a monthly publication that offers insights into the developments in domestic and global economies but doesn't represent the views of the central bank.

The intervention by the central bank has increased in the spot as well as forward market after the Indian rupee started depreciating sharply due to various global and domestic factors.

The Indian rupee has been on the depreciation path in the last few months due to various factors such as widening trade deficit, rising crude oil prices, a surge in the dollar index after the US Federal Reserve hinted at fewer rate cuts in 2025, India’s sluggish growth in Q2FY25, and foreign investor outflows from equities.

This has led to the Indian rupee depreciating sharply in the last few months and hitting record lows almost every day against the US dollar.

In the last three months, the Indian rupee has depreciated around 3.0 percent against the US dollar.

The strengthening US dollar exerted depreciating pressures on EME currencies in December 2024, leading to a depreciation of 0.7 per cent (m-o-m) in the Indian rupee (INR) during December 2024, RBI report said.

Nevertheless, the INR remained one of the least volatile major currencies during the month. The INR depreciated by 0.9 per cent MoM in terms of the 40-currency real effective exchange rate (REER) in December 2024, majorly on account of negative relative price differentials, report added.