The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the trading hours for the interbank call money market from July 1, and that of repo and tri-party repo markets from August 1. Market participants said the decision is intended to help reduce the large Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) balances held by banks with the RBI, thereby addressing liquidity mismatches.
It is thought that the RBI has been accumulating dollars to fight odds.
After a robust 2023, foreign investors significantly scaled back their investments in Indian equities in 2024, with net inflows amounting to over Rs 5,000 crore, as elevated domestic valuations, coupled with geopolitical uncertainties prompted investors to adopt a more cautious stance. Looking ahead to 2025, FPI flows into Indian equities could see a recovery, supported by a cyclical upswing in corporate earnings, particularly in domestic-oriented sectors like capital goods, manufacturing, and infrastructure, Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research, Ventura Securities, said.
After two months of net outflow, foreign investors turned buyers in June, infusing Rs 26,565 crore in Indian equities, driven by political stability and a sharp rebound in markets. Looking ahead, attention will gradually shift towards the budget and Q1 FY25 earnings, which could determine the sustainability of FPI flows, Vipul Bhowar, Director, Listed Investments, Waterfield Advisors, said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday searched locations in Karnataka, including educational institutions linked to state Home Minister G Parameshwara, as part of a probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actor Ranya Rao and others. The ED sources said an educational trust is suspected to have "diverted" funds and made a payment of Rs 40 lakh towards the credit card bill of Rao, allegedly on the instructions of an influential individual. The sources claimed the trust is linked to Parameshwara and the "influential" individual is a politically exposed person. The searches found there were no supporting vouchers or documentation to "substantiate" this payment (for credit card bill payment), they said.
India's foreign exchange reserves dropped by $1.49 billion to reach $575.27 billion as of February 3, snapping a three-week rising trend, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had jumped by $3.03 billion to $576.76 billion. In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
India's foreign exchange reserves soared by $11.02 billion to reach $561.162 billion for the week ended December 2, Reserve Bank data showed on Friday. This is the fourth consecutive week of rise in the reserves. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had grown by $2.9 billion to $550.14 billion. For the week ended November 11, the forex kitty had jumped by $14.72 billion in its second fastest weekly acceleration ever.
'India has the potential to grow at more than 7%, with the monetary policy providing a supportive hand.'
With inflation remaining at elevated levels, central banks around the world, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will kill excess demand in economy over the next six to eight months, sources in the know said. They also indicated that there could be a rate hike in June, when the inflation forecast for the current financial year would be raised. The RBI, the sources said, might announce more steps such as raising the limit on held-to-maturity (HTM) bonds to support government borrowings but might not come out with any further quantitative easing GSAP (Government Securities Acquisition Programme) measures.
'A repo cut will be very good for the market as it will mean that everything is being done to spur growth in these uncertain times.'
The Budget should undertake further reductions in import tariffs and seriously consider an announcement of India's intention to join one or both of the two Asian mega-regional free trade agreements, suggests Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
India's foreign exchange reserves dropped by $1.087 billion to stand at $529.99 billion for the week ended November 4 on a sharp decline in gold reserves, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had swelled by $6.561 billion to reach $531.08 billion, making it the biggest weekly jump in a year. In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
A potential risk to the rupee's appreciation trajectory lies in the event of a delay in the Federal Reserve's rate cut cycle, particularly if core inflation in the US remains elevated.
Towards the end of February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restored the risk weighting on banks loans to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs; including to microfinance institutions, or MFIs) to 100 - back to its November 2023 position - from 125. It is only a partial relief though. "Higher risk weighting on unsecured lending continues to be in place while the same on bank funding to NBFCs has been done away with. "This is a positive step by RBI," says Rajiv Sabharwal, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Tata Capital.
A statement from the finance ministry said, 'it shall be the policy of the Sri Lankan government to suspend normal debt servicing...shall apply to amounts of affected debts outstanding on April 12, 2022'.
The 54-page document tabled in Parliament detailed how the Modi-government pull the economy from being counted among the most fragile-five in the world to being the fasted growing and the most attractive investment destination.
The RBI under former governor Shaktikanta Das resisted pressures to cut interest rates through 2024 as it kept its 'Arjuna's eye' trained on inflation, but the central bank under a new detail-oriented head will soon have to take a call if it can continue sacrificing growth. Das, a career bureaucrat who in 2016 oversaw Prime Minister Narendra Modi's highly disruptive demonetisation move, left a lasting legacy as he demitted office towards the end of 2024 after expertly navigating monetary policy for six years, the highlight of which was steering India's recovery through the pandemic.
The rupee rose by 12 paise to close at 79.78 against the US dollar on Monday due to a weak dollar in overseas markets and an improved appetite for riskier assets. Stronger regional currencies also supported the rupee sentiment ahead of the US Fed policy decision on Wednesday. Weak domestic equities and FII outflows, however, capped sharp gains. At the inter-bank forex market, the local unit opened at 79.86 against the greenback and moved in a range of 79.70 to 79.87 in the day trade.
The Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) of the rupee moderated in December to 107.20 after hitting a peak of 108.14 in November, latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. The REER was 103.66 in January 2024. The rupee depreciated around 3 per cent against the dollar in 2024.
Escalating trade tensions amid a tariff war after Donald Trump took over as President of the United States (US) could adversely impact global growth and fuel inflation, an article on the "State of the Economy" in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monthly bulletin said.
If growth reverts to the pre-Covid level, a lot of people may have to temper their rosy optimism, points out Debashis Basu.
India's foreign exchange reserves declined $867 million to $593.04 billion in the week ended September 15, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves dropped $4.99 billion to $593.90 billion. In October 2021, the country's reserves had touched an all-time high of $645 billion.
A trends study conducted by India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has expressed suspicion that cryptocurrency is being used across the country in serious criminal acts like terrorist financing, fuelling secessionist activities, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, illegal betting and gambling. The report, which was based on suspicious transaction reports and operational analysis, shared these trends and credible intelligence with law enforcement agencies.
After an extremely stable 2023, the Indian rupee started 2024 on a promising note and has turned out to be the best-performing Asian currency so far in January, appreciating 0.1 per cent despite 2 per cent rise in the dollar index. All other Asian currencies depreciated by around 1.4-4 per cent during the month. The local currency regained its ground against the greenback on the back of foreign portfolio inflows, said market participants.
India's forex exchange reserves increased by $289 million to $640.401 billion for the week ended November 19, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. The overall reserves had declined by $763 million to $640.11 billion in the previous reporting week. They had touched a life time high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
While liquidity in the banking system has turned surplus in the last few weeks, it could go back to deficit again, mainly due to corporate advance tax outflows. The net liquidity surplus of the banking system rose to touch Rs 1 trillion on Tuesday on the back of government spending, according to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India.
Benchmark interest rate hiked by 50 basis points to 3-year high at 5.90 per cent. Economic growth projection for FY23 cut to 7% from 7.2% estimated in August. GDP expected to grow at 6.3% in September quarter, 4.6% each in December and March quarters.
Hikes benchmark lending rate by 35 basis points to 6.25 per cent Cuts growth projection for this fiscal to 6.8 per cent from 7 per cent estimated in September Inflation to come down below 6 per cent in March quarter, to average 6.7 per cent this fiscal
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RBI's forex swap window for oil marketing companies addresses an urgent issue but what happens when the dollars have to be returned?
Referring to visible indicators of green shoots, the finance minister said the forex reserve is at an all time high and the stock market is upbeat.
The rupee plunged 58 paise to close at an all-time low of 81.67 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday as the strengthening of the American currency overseas and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit. Moreover, escalation of geopolitical risks due to conflict in Ukraine, a negative trend in domestic equities and significant foreign fund outflows sapped investor appetite, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 81.47, then fell further to close at an all-time low of 81.67 against the American currency, registering a decline of 58 paise over its previous close.
The rupee has remained largely stable against the US greenback in the current calendar year (CY 2024), depreciating by just 0.59 per cent so far. However, it has considerably weakened against the euro and pound. The local currency has depreciated by 1.6 per cent against the euro and 5.6 per cent against the pound, as both currencies strengthened against the dollar during this period.
It is high time to manoeuvre the rupee more effectively and predictably, even as it has to be recognised that such tweaking of the rupee needs to be accompanied by reforms to the real sector and factor markets.
BofA-ML revised its end-2015 rupee-dollar forecast to 60 from 64 earlier.
'The RBI's MPC will maintain the current policy rates (6.50%) at the policy meeting, given ongoing inflationary pressures.'
Brokerage firm Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) on Monday said the ongoing US government shutdown is positive for the country, as it gives additional time to recoup the forex reserves.
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The BofAML report said that five year money can be raised by issuing the 7 to 9 per cent coupon bonds to stabilise markets, just as it was done in 1998 and 2001.
Growth remains weak, inflation is within 2-6% range, rate cut would help recoup forex reserves
The Reserve Bank is likely to continue buying dollars from market to add to its reserves in the coming months, which has crossed $300 billion, says a report.
ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar on Wednesday said the country has many positives like high forex reserves, and low current account and fiscal gaps, which can help it weather the ongoing volatilities.
