Overview
- Reports from Reuters and industry outlets say the RBI asked state-run oil refiners to cut spot dollar purchases, which are immediate buys at the current exchange rate.
- The guidance directs Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum to use forward contracts or an SBI channel to source dollars for crude payments.
- Refiners are among India’s biggest dollar buyers, so shifting their flows off the open market aims to lessen the bursts of demand that can move the rupee.
- Traders say refiners’ spot activity has eased in recent days, and the rupee has recovered about 2% from March’s record lows to near 93.20 per dollar.
- Some details remain unverified, and Business Today says it could not independently confirm the reported SBI facility, while other steps like reserve sales and tighter FX rules have also supported the currency.