Skip to main content

RBI steps in to stem rupee fall, defends 77.50 per dollar level

By

 A day after the rupee hit an all-time low and breached the 77 per dollar mark, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday intervened heavily across foreign exchange markets — spot, futures, and off-shore — which stopped the rupee from going past the 77.50 per dollar level, currency dealers said. The Indian currency opened at 77.29 per dollar after closing at 77.46 on Monday. State-run banks sold dollars heavily, on behalf of the central bank, at 77.42 levels, the dealers said. The rupee ended the day 77.33 per dollar, up 14 paise from the previous close, after touching the day’s low of 77.45. “The RBI protected the rupee, preventing it from hitting 77.50 levels. We have seen dollar selling in those levels,” said Amit Pabari, managing director, CR Forex.. In a Business Standard poll on Monday, most participants expected the rupee to breach the 78 per dollar mark by the end of this month, while some projected the rupee to breach 79 per dollar levels by the end of the quarter. “There was not much support for the rupee as exporters were not selling while the dollar was strengthening,” said Anil Bhansali, head of treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.

 

Bhansali said the central bank might have sold $500-$700 million on Tuesday in the spot market. Dealers said the central bank was seen intervening across foreign exchange markets — spot, futures and the NDF (non-deliverable forward) markets — showing its intention to defend the Indian unit amid global uncertainties, which has led investors to rush for safe haven assets. “The dollar traded higher as investors shed riskier assets on worries about higher interest rates and their impact on economic growth, while the dollar held near 20-year highs,” IFA Global said in a note.“The dollar's relentless advance is roiling Asian currencies and pushing policymakers into action to curb losses,” they added. The central bank's resolve to defend the currency will be tested amid a sharp fall in foreign exchange reserves in the last few months. Foreign exchange reserves declined by around $45 billion from its all-time high of $642 billion – reached for the week ended September 3, 2021. Sources said the RBI aims to maintain foreign exchange reserves of $600 billion in such uncertain times. The latest data from the RBI showed that the country’s foreign exchange reserves were at $598 billion for the week ended April 29, apart from a forward book of around $60-70 billion.

 

-Business Standard, 11th May 2022

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RBI deputy governor cautions fintech platform lenders on privacy concerns during loan recovery

By
  India's digital lending infrastructure has made the loan sanctioning system online. Yet, loan recovery still needs a “feet on the street” approach, Swaminathan J, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said at a media event on Tuesday, September 2, according to news agency ANI.According to the ANI report, the deputy governor flagged that fintech operators in the digital lending segment are giving out loans to customers with poor credit profiles and later using aggressive recovery tactics.“While loan sanctioning and disbursement have become increasingly digital, effective collection and recovery still require a 'feet on the street' and empathetic approach. Many fintech platforms operate on a business model that involves extending small-value loans to customers often with poor credit profiles,” Swaminathan J said.   Fintech platforms' business models The central bank deputy governor highlighted that many fintech platforms' business models involve providing sm
Post a Comment
Read more

Credit card spending growth declines on RBI gaze, stress build-up

By
  Credit card spends have further slowed down to 16.6 per cent in the current financial year (FY25), following the Reserve Bank of India’s tightening of unsecured lending norms and rising delinquencies, and increased stress in the portfolio.Typically, during the festival season (September–December), credit card spends peak as several credit card-issuing banks offer discounts and cashbacks on e-commerce and other platforms. This is a reversal of trend in the past three financial years stretching to FY21 due to RBI’s restrictions.In the previous financial year (FY24), credit card spends rose by 27.8 per cent, but were low compared to FY23 which surged by 47.5 per cent. In FY22, the spending increased 54.1 per cent, according to data compiled by Macquarie Research.ICICI Bank recorded 4.4 per cent gross credit losses in its FY24 credit card portfolio as against 3.2 per cent year-on-year. SBI Cards’ credit losses in the segment stood at 7.4 per cent in FY24 and 6.2 per cent in FY23, the rep
Post a Comment
Read more

India can't rely on wealthy to drive growth: Ex-RBI Dy Guv Viral Acharya

By
  India can’t rely on wealthy individuals to drive growth and expect the overall economy to improve, Viral Acharya, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday.Acharya, who is the C V Starr Professor of Economics in the Department of Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business (NYU-Stern), said after the Covid-19 pandemic, rural consumption and investments have weakened.We can’t be pumping our growth through the rich and expect that the economy as a whole will do better,” he said while speaking at an event organised by Elara Capital here.f there has to be a trickle-down, it should have actually happened by now,” Acharya said, adding that when the rich keep getting wealthier and wealthier, they have a savings problem.   “The bank account keeps getting bigger, hence they look for financial assets to invest in. India is closed, so our money can't go outside India that easily. So, it has to chase the limited financial assets in the country and
Post a Comment
Read more