The RBI sold a record $53.13 billion in the spot market, while its outstanding net forward sales position widened to an all-time high of negative $103.06 billion
The Reserve Bank of India recorded its largest net sale of foreign currency in at least 15 years, and its outstanding position in the forward market hit a decadal high in FY26. These measures were a response to the rupee’s weakness, driven by US tariff-related uncertainty and capital outflows. The rupee lost approximately 9.5 per cent against the dollar in FY26.
RBI’s net purchase or sale of dollars in the spot market has historically fluctuated with global financial conditions and domestic capital flows. The central bank sold $20.14 billion in FY2011-12, during the taper tantrum when the Indian economy was considered one of the ‘fragile five’. FY19 saw net sales of $15.38 billion amid emerging market stress and rising US interest rates. In FY23, RBI sold $25.52 billion amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, elevated crude oil prices, and a strengthening US dollar, which weakened emerging market currencies, including the rupee. FY26, however, eclipsed all previous years, with cumulative net dollar sales reaching $53.13 billion. The figure was substantially higher than the $34.51 billion net sale recorded in FY2024-25.
According to Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, “the record sale of $ in the spot market by the RBI, was to stabilise the ₹ which had depreciated almost 10 per cent against the $ in FY26, following the tariffs imposed on India by the Trump administration.”
