Rupee jumps after RBI steps in
The rupee made a solid comeback on Wednesday, climbing about 65 paise to close at 90.38 against the US dollar—its best single-day gain in two months.
This bounce happened after state-run banks, likely on behalf of the RBI, sold dollars to help stop the rupee's slide from the previous session's record low.
Why does this matter?
A stronger rupee means cheaper imports (think: oil), which can help keep prices and inflation in check.
Even with this rebound, though, the rupee is still down over 6% for the year—making it Asia's weakest currency so far—thanks to trade tensions with the US and big foreign investor outflows in December.
What pushed the rupee up?
Importers were snapping up dollars to manage currency swings, while exporters held off for better rates.
Add in some market triggers and portfolio outflows, and things got shaky enough that RBI had to step in—much like they did earlier this year—to calm things down.