RBI releases weekly foreign exchange trading data

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RBI weekly foreign exchange data

Highlights

On August 31, 2026, FCY/INR spot purchases in the merchant segment were recorded at 8,198 million U.S. dollars and sales at 8,663 million U.S. dollars.
In the inter-bank segment, FCY/INR spot purchases stood at 29,149 million U.S. dollars and FCY/FCY spot sales at 40,556 million U.S. dollars on August 31, 2026.
Higher turnover in the inter-bank segment reflects the continuity of liquidity management, hedging and position adjustment activities in the banking system.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Trading details from August 31 to September 4

According to press release 2026-2027/1281 from the Reserve Bank of India, the published data show daily purchase and sale transactions in both the merchant and inter-bank segments of the foreign exchange market. All figures are in U.S. dollar millions and include details of different transactions such as spot, forwards, forward cancellations and swaps.

In the merchant segment, FCY/INR spot purchases stood at 8,198 million U.S. dollars and sales at 8,663 million U.S. dollars on August 31, 2026, while purchases reached 10,532 million U.S. dollars on September 1. By September 4, 2026, FCY/INR spot purchases in the merchant segment were recorded at 3,652 million U.S. dollars and sales at 4,256 million U.S. dollars.

Trading volumes in the inter-bank segment were considerably larger during the same period. On August 31, 2026, FCY/INR spot purchases stood at 29,149 million U.S. dollars and spot sales at 26,359 million U.S. dollars, while FCY/FCY spot purchases were recorded at 36,032 million U.S. dollars and sales at 40,556 million U.S. dollars. On September 4, 2026, the final trading day of the week, FCY/INR spot purchases were 21,477 million U.S. dollars and sales were 19,190 million U.S. dollars.

Impact on market liquidity and reporting

These figures indicate the daily activity of the banking system and corporate clients in the foreign exchange market, particularly given the clear difference in trading volumes between the merchant and inter-bank segments. Higher turnover in the inter-bank segment reflects ongoing market liquidity, hedging activity and position management among banks.

RBI also clarified that daily turnover in the inter-bank segment is based on data reported by both counterparties. The released data are provisional, so limited revisions may be made in subsequent updates.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra’s warning on global financial tightening noted that factors such as rising bond yields, high leverage and stretched equity valuations could spread pressure to banks and non-bank financial institutions, increasing market volatility. Our earlier article also highlighted that external conditions, such as a stronger dollar and rising U.S. yields, could put pressure on the rupee, domestic bond yields and funding costs, further increasing the importance of liquidity and hedging activity.

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