RBI Clamping Down on Rupee Speculators

Concerned about the rupee’s fall to a record low, RBI has discreetly phoned trading desks with unusually explicit messages to cut their speculative positions in the currency, said three senior market participants with direct knowledge of such calls.

While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regularly monitors positions and flows in the currency market, the sources said it was unusual for the central bank to call so often or state so explicitly that banks should cut their intraday net open position limits – or their outstanding positions in futures and forwards markets.

A bank’s net open position is its aggregate exposure to foreign exchange risk.

The pressure highlights the limited options for a central bank that has seen the rupee hit hard in last month’s emerging markets rout, but is reluctant to sell too much of its US dollar foreign reserves given they are enough to cover only seven months of imports.

Economic Times

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