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The Reserve Bank of India has conducted more than $2 billion in FX swaps over ‍the last two days to offset the drain in liquidity caused ​by spot dollar sales, four bankers said, suggesting a ‌focus on containing currency pressures without exacerbating ​banking liquidity tightness.

The central bank has stepped up spot market intervention amid equity outflows, higher demand linked to bullion imports and increased hedging pile up pressure on the rupee. The currency plunged 0.8% on Wednesday to an all-time low of 91.7425.

Spot intervention drains rupee liquidity, an effect the RBI can ​counter through dollar/rupee buy-sell FX swaps, in which ⁠the first leg is settled at the spot date and the second at a future date.

Bankers said the central bank conducted such swaps on Tuesday ​and Wednesday across various ⁠maturities. While views on the total size differed, one banker pegged it at more than $3 billion, with estimates starting at around $2 billion.

The bankers requested anonymity since they ‌were not authorised to speak publicly. The RBI did ‌not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

While the RBI regularly uses FX swaps alongside ‍spot intervention, bankers said the volume of buy-sell swaps this week was unusually large compared with past episodes.

“It looks like ‍they (RBI) will have to do it (the buy-sell swaps) on a regular basis, considering how frequently they are needing to intervene (in spot) and the liquidity scarcity,” a senior treasury official at a private sector bank said.

Liquidity in India’s banking system has intermittently slipped into deficit in recent weeks despite the central bank’s bond purchases and FX swap operations. Bankers said ⁠cash conditions have come under increasing pressure from spot FX intervention.

Banking system liquidity slipped into a deficit ​of around ₹6,000 crore ($655.4 million) on Wednesday.

The RBI’s swap lowered ⁠dollar/rupee hedging costs, countering the upward pressure on forward premiums that would normally accompany a fall in the currency.

Implied yield on the one-year dollar/rupee premium fell by about 10 basis points over the last two ⁠days, slipping further on Thursday.

Published on January 22, 2026

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A bird flies past the facade of the ICICI bank head office in Mumbai, India, April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo/File Photo
| Photo Credit:
FRANCIS MASCARENHAS

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company announced on Wednesday that its Smallcap Fund will resume subscriptions from January 23, 2026, ending a nearly 22-month suspension. The trustee, ICICI Prudential Trust Limited, approved the reopening, signaling improved valuations in the small-cap segment.

All investment restrictions at the PAN level have been withdrawn. The fund will now accept fresh and additional lump sum purchases, switch-ins from other schemes, and new registrations through systematic investment plans (SIP) and systematic transfer plans (STP).

The fund had stopped accepting fresh subscriptions on March 14, 2024, following concerns over elevated valuations in mid-cap and small-cap stocks. The move was in line with actions by other major asset management companies, including Nippon, Tata, and Kotak Mutual Funds, after the Securities and Exchange Board of India directed funds to conduct stress tests on their mid-cap and small-cap schemes.

ICICI Prudential Smallcap Fund, launched in October 2007, manages assets worth approximately ₹8,428 crore. The equity-oriented scheme invests predominantly in small-cap stocks across a diversified portfolio of over 100 companies. Industrials constitute 26.22 per cent of the portfolio, followed by Basic Materials at 22.73 per cent and Consumer Cyclical at 12.77 per cent. The fund has delivered a three-year CAGR of 14.74 per cent as of January 20, 2026. It is managed by Anish Tawakley and Aatur Shah.

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited shares were trading at ₹2,865.80 on the NSE on Thursday morning, up ₹22.50 or 0.79 per cent from the previous close of ₹2,843.30. The stock opened at ₹2,868 and touched an intraday high of ₹2,895. The company, recently listed on December 19, 2025, has a total market capitalization of ₹1,41,387.59 crore.

Published on January 22, 2026

Crude oil futures traded higher on Thursday morning after US President Donald Trump said that he would not impose tariffs on Europe over the Greenland issue.

At 9.56 am on Thursday, March Brent oil futures were at $65.34, up by 0.15 per cent, and March crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $60.77, up by 0.25 per cent. February crude oil futures were trading at ₹5586 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹5569, up by 0.31 per cent, and March futures were trading at ₹5595 against the previous close of ₹5583, up by 0.21 per cent.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”

Markets had expressed concerns over Trump’s tariff threats on European nations, as such tariffs would have impacted the global economic growth.

Meanwhile, International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Oil Market Report for January said that the global oil demand growth is forecast to average 930,000 barrels a day in 2026, up from 850,000 barrels a day in 2025, reflecting a normalisation of economic conditions after last year’s tariff turmoil and lower oil prices than a year ago. A recovery in petrochemical feedstocks demand will be partially offset by a continued slowdown in gasoline gains. Non-OECD countries will once again account for all of the growth in 2026, the report said.

The report said that the world oil supply is now projected to rise by 2.5 million barrels a day this year to 108.7 million barrels a day, following an increase of 3 million barrels a day in 2025. Non-OPEC+ accounts for 1.8 million barrels a day of the gains in 2025 and 1.3 million barrels a day in 2026.

February natural gas futures were trading at ₹335.80 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹320.60, up by 4.74 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), February guargum contracts were trading at ₹10815 in the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹10694, up by 1.13 per cent.

April dhaniya futures were trading at ₹11926 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹11968, down by 0.35 per cent.

Published on January 22, 2026