India merchant FX spot purchases rise in September 21–25 trading week
RBI provisional data show merchant spot purchases rose to USD 32,337 million in September 21–25, 2026. All four reported spot measures increased from the previous week, though the latest period had five trading days rather than four.
Merchant foreign-currency/rupee spot purchases reached USD 32,337 million in the September 21–25, 2026 trading week, according to provisional Reserve Bank of India data. Weekly purchases rose from USD 25,342 million in the previous reported week, beginning September 15. The increase came alongside a longer reporting period: five trading days compared with four, making the higher weekly sum an insufficient basis for concluding that daily trading activity accelerated.
Merchant spot sales also increased, reaching USD 32,242 million from USD 26,634 million in the previous reported week. Purchases and sales were therefore close in size in the latest period. These are separate directional measures, however, rather than components to combine into a unique merchant-market total. Their proximity does not establish the motives behind transactions or indicate the direction of the rupee.
The merchant-purchase history puts the latest increase in perspective. The weekly sum was close to USD 32,441 million in the five-day week beginning August 31 and remained below USD 36,314 million in the five-day week beginning July 13. That makes the latest reading a recovery in weekly reported activity rather than a new high across the observations from May 11 through September 25. Those matched five-day comparisons provide a more useful benchmark than the shorter preceding week alone.
Interbank spot purchases and sales likewise rose from the previous reported week, reaching USD 96,076 million and USD 90,777 million, respectively. Both interbank directions were larger than their corresponding merchant measures. RBI's interbank reporting includes both counterparties, so these figures cannot be added to each other, or to merchant activity, to estimate non-overlapping trades across India's foreign-exchange market.
The clearest signal is broader weekly transaction activity across the four reported directions, not demonstrated improvement in liquidity. More turnover could support liquidity if it reflects a greater ability to transact, but weekly sums alone do not establish that trading conditions improved. Nor do they measure outstanding positions or establish cross-border capital inflows. The longer trading week and the merchant series' earlier comparable readings keep the interpretation narrower: activity increased on a weekly-sum basis without establishing a sustained acceleration.
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