RBI bought net $1.95 billion in spot forex market in January

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought $1.95 billion on a net basis in the spot foreign exchange market in January, data released on Tuesday as part of the central bank's monthly bulletin showed.

The RBI said it purchased $10.40 billion and sold $8.45 billion. In December, the central bank had bought $2.07 billion on a net basis in the spot market.

Rupee appreciated by 0.2 per cent against the dollar in January. The unit traded in a range of 82.77 to 83.3475 during the month.

The RBI's net outstanding forward purchase stood at $9.97 billion as of end-January, compared with a net purchase of $2.18 billion at the end of the previous month, the data showed.

The central bank intervenes in the spot and forwards market to curb the exchange rate volatility.

The currency was at 83.0350 to the dollar on Tuesday.