Indian central bank steps up rupee defence across markets, traders say

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India likely intervened across market segments on Friday, seven traders told Reuters, stepping up defence of the currency as it threatened to breach record low levels pressured by surging oil prices.

The central bank likely intervened in the dollar-rupee non-deliverable forward (NDF), onshore spot and forward markets as the rupee slid in the NDF market before local markets opened at 9 AM IST.

Right before the open, the currency was shored by the central bank’s dollar sales which later in the day were supplemented by dollar-rupee buy/sell swaps, driving forward premiums lower with the 1-year implied yield down 4 bps at 2.93%.

“Here, there, and everywhere,” a trader at a Mumbai-based bank said, referring to the central bank’s intervention on Friday. Other traders too pointed to seemingly firmer market intervention than seen in recent sessions.

Also read: Indian central bank likely intervenes as Indian rupee nears record low, traders say

The central bank’s frequent but mild interventions earlier to curb sharp falls have also left traders struggling to gauge how much weakness policymakers couldallow.

“It seems like there is some discomfort with the 97 level but persistence of oil prices will remain the key driver,” a trader at a Singapore based hedge fund said.

None of them could be named because they are not authorized to speak to media.

The rupee was hovering around 96.50 per dollar on as of 2:30 p.m. IST, holding above its all-time low of 96.96 hit in May.

A near 4% fall in crude oil prices to $96.6 per barrel did little to help the currency immediately in the face of sustained dollar demand from local corporates, the traders said.