RBI raises currency derivative trade limit to USD 100 mn

The Reserve Bank today raised the exposure limit under exchange traded currency derivatives (ETCD) trading for residents and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to USD 100 million across all currency pairs involving the Indian rupee. The RBI's decision to raise the limit will help entities engaged in forex transactions to maintain their currency risks in a better manner.

Earlier, the RBI had imposed a limit of USD 15 million for USD-INR and USD 5 million for other currency pairs of Indian rupee with Euro, Japanese Yen and British Pound.

"It has now been decided to permit persons resident in India and FPIs to take positions (long or short), without having to establish existence of underlying exposure, up to a single limit of USD 100 million equivalent across all currency pairs involving INR, put together, and combined across all exchanges," the RBI said in a notification.

The RBI further said that the onus of complying with the provisions of this decision rests with the participant in the ETCD market. In case of any contravention the participant shall be liable to any action that may be warranted as per the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and the regulations, directions, etc. issued thereunder, the RBI said. "These limits shall also be monitored by the exchanges, and breaches, if any, may be reported to the Reserve Bank of India," it said.