RBI's net outstanding forward dollar sales rise for 2nd straight month Oct
This story was originally published at 13:39 IST on 1 December 2025
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NEW DELHI – The Reserve Bank of India's net outstanding sales of dollar/rupee forward contracts increased for the second consecutive month in October after the central bank had pared back sales in the previous six months. The central bank's net outstanding short forward positions rose $4.20 billion on month to $63.61 billion at the end of October, data from the central bank showed.
The continued rise in the central bank's outstanding forward dollar sales reflects the RBI's increased defence of the rupee through active dollar sales in the offshore non-deliverable forwards and spot market. The RBI had also conducted buy/sell swaps – buying dollars for immediate delivery and selling them for a forward date – in the 18 months and higher maturity in October to limit the strain of its spot sales on systemic rupee liquidity.
Of the total forward book, short positions with maturity of up to one month rose to $17.06 billion at the end of October from $16.49 billion from a month ago. For the tenure of one-three months, the outstanding short positions rose to $19.76 billion at October-end, up $4.93 billion from a month ago. The outstanding short positions decreased $7.38 billion in the tenure of three months to a year to $610 million at the end of October. The net position of the RBI's forward book is the difference between its outstanding gross purchases and gross sales of forward contracts.
The RBI's short positions in long-term forwards with maturity over one year rose for the first time since March. It was $26.18 billion as of October-end, up $6.08 billion on month. The central bank did not have any gross long positions in its forwards book at the end of October. The rupee was steady against the dollar in October, primarily due to the RBI's continued intervention through dollar sales.
Details of the RBI's outstanding forward book as on Oct. 31 are as follows. All figures in million dollars:
| October | Total | Up To 1 Month | 1-3 Months | 3 Months-1 Year | More Than 1 Year |
| Short positions | 63,605 | 17,060 | 19,760 | 610 | 26,175 |
| Net change from Sept-end | 4,200 | 575 | 4,930 | (-)7,380 | 6,075 |
| Long positions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Net change from Sept-end | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Net (long-short) | (-)63,605 | (-)17,060 | (-)19,760 | (-)610 | (-)26,175 |
End
US$1 = INR 89.68
Reported by Shubham Rana
Edited by Vandana Hingorani
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