RBI Net Buys $2.53 Billion in January After Seven Months of Dollar Sales

The one-month net buy points to active two-way intervention during a volatile spell for the rupee.

Overview

The RBI, which disclosed Monday in its monthly bulletin, recorded a net $2.526 billion spot purchase in January, its first net buy in eight months.
On a gross basis, it bought $27.999 billion and sold $25.473 billion in January, signaling heavy two-way operations to steady the currency market.
The central bank had been a net seller from June through December 2025, with the largest monthly sale at $11.877 billion in October.
The rupee strengthened in early February on foreign portfolio inflows and the announcement of an interim India–US trade deal, then faced depreciation pressure by March 20 due to market volatility tied to the West Asia conflict.
RBI data also showed its net short dollar position in the forward market rose to $67.77 billion at end-January from $62.35 billion, a shift SBI says moves more contracts to longer maturities and eases near-term settlement strain.