The Indian rupee opened sharply higher on Monday morning, gaining 97 paise to reach 95.76 against the US dollar.
The surge follows a series of decisive weekend measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) aimed at curbing market speculation and stabilising the local currency.
To relieve pressure on the foreign exchange market, the RBI introduced a dedicated dollar-selling window for public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) starting Oct 12, expected to reroute $11–12 billion in monthly demand away from the spot market.
Additionally, the central bank slashed the derivative limit for transactions without documented underlying exposure from $100 million to $5 million and instituted a 20% Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve (FERR) requirement for corporate derivative contracts over $2 million.
While economists note these steps provide immediate near-term relief, they warn that broader geopolitical tensions, elevated global bond yields, and heavy foreign portfolio investor (FPI) equity outflows—totalling Rs 44,166 crore in early October—could keep medium-term pressure on the currency until structural imbalances ease.