FX.co ★ Indian Rupee Pauses Decline

The Indian rupee strengthened to around 90.9 per US dollar, halting the previous session’s decline, as sentiment improved on expectations of robust foreign inflows from upcoming state-owned IPOs. India plans to raise $19.7 billion by 2030 through listings of subsidiaries in the railways, power, oil and gas, aviation, and coal sectors, with early offerings such as GAIL Gas and Coal India anticipated to draw both domestic and international investors.

Optimism was further lifted by news that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit India this week and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 2 to discuss new partnerships in trade, energy, artificial intelligence, and defence.

At the same time, the Reserve Bank of India’s foreign-exchange strategy is underpinning the currency. Analysts expect the central bank to step in as a dollar buyer if the rupee appreciates to the 88–89 per dollar range. Despite a $62 billion short forward position and sizeable planned sovereign borrowing of about 30 trillion rupees in the next fiscal year, the RBI’s foreign-exchange reserves remain at a record $725.7 billion, providing a substantial buffer against market volatility.