RBI net buys over $5 billion from spot market in May

The Reserve Bank bought USD 5.006 billion of the greenback on a net basis in May from the spot market, according to the central bank data.
The central bank had purchased USD 7.020 billion and sold USD 2.014 billion in the spot market in May. In April, it was a net purchaser of USD 566 million after it bought USD 1.751 billion and sold USD 1.185 billion in the spot market.
The RBI intervenes in the forex market to curb excessive volatility in the rupee.
In May 2016, the RBI was a net buyer of USD 554 million, having purchased USD 4.369 billion and sold USD 3.815 billion in the month.

In the entire fiscal of 2017, RBI net purchased USD 12.351 billion as it bought USD 71.764 billion and sold USD 59.413 billion in the spot market.
In the financial year 2016 also, the apex bank was a net purchaser of USD 10.209 billion. In the forwards dollar market, the outstanding net purchase as of end-May was USD 13.601 billion, while net forwards purchase as of end-April stood at USD 13.553 billion, showed the data.