Rupee down 3.5% since March; RBI sells $38 billion to steady currency: FinMin

The Indian rupee weakened by about 3.5 percent against the US dollar between end-March and end-October 2025, the finance ministry’s October Monthly Economic Review said.

The report noted that this was a steady, gradual depreciation over seven months and in line with the broader trend in other emerging market currencies. The pressure mainly came from global factors: a stronger dollar, high US interest rates and continued volatility in global financial markets.

In October, the rupee moved in a narrow band of 87.8–88.8 per dollar, almost unchanged from September. According to the report, this low volatility reflected a phase of relative stability in global currency markets, supported by steady portfolio flows and the RBI’s active management of liquidity and foreign exchange.

On November 26, Moneycontrol reported that the RBI’s intervention in the spot currency market hit a three-year high in the January-September period, as it stepped in to defend the rupee amid domestic outflows and global trade uncertainties.

RBI data compiled by Moneycontrol shows:

• The RBI sold $37.99 billion in the spot market in January–September 2025, the highest for any nine months since 2022.


• In January–September 2022, it had sold $58.255 billion.


• In FY26 so far (April–September 2025), the RBI has sold $23.5 billion in the spot forex market to support the rupee.