The Reserve Bank of India unloaded an estimated $7 billion to $9 billion on Friday alone to prop up the rupee, according to multiple banking sources. The intervention came as the currency flirted with its record low, having lost nearly 6% against the dollar so far this year.
Friday's dollar blitz
Two senior bankers told Reuters the central bank's dollar sales on July 18 reached $8 billion to $9 billion. Bloomberg sources put the figure at roughly $7 billion. The RBI operated in both onshore and offshore markets, a sign of how aggressively it moved to check the rupee's decline.
The rupee had closed at 95.6 per dollar on Thursday, just 1.4% above its all-time low of 96.96 hit in May 2026. Friday's intervention helped stabilize the currency, and follow-up dollar sales on Monday and Tuesday pushed the rupee past the 96 mark.
Intervention pattern deepens
This is not a one-off. RBI data shows the central bank has been a net dollar seller for months. In March it sold $9.76 billion net, in April $8.94 billion, and in May $6.1 billion. The May figures reveal the scale of activity: the RBI bought $22.2 billion in the spot market but sold $28.3 billion, leaving a net sale of $6.1 billion.
India's foreign exchange reserves stood at $676.2 billion as of July 17, up more than $9 billion in three weeks. That cushion gives the central bank room to keep intervening, but the pace of dollar sales is accelerating.
Foreign money returns
One bright spot: foreign portfolio investors bought $1.3 billion of Indian equities in the week through July 9, the largest weekly inflow since June 2025. That demand for rupee assets could ease some pressure on the currency.
Goldman Sachs expects the RBI's measures, combined with softer global oil prices, to support the rupee going forward. But the currency remains under pressure from a strong dollar and widening trade deficit.
The central bank has not commented on Friday's operations. Traders are watching to see if the RBI will need to keep selling at this pace — and how long its $676 billion war chest can last if the selling continues.
