Centre monitoring rupee, no curbs on non-essential imports: Piyush Goyal

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the government is closely monitoring the rupee and weighing multiple measures to navigate the ongoing global volatility. “We are monitoring the situation. All the various arms of government are working as a team. Several steps are under consideration. The situation is globally quite challenging, but we have the confidence and the courage of conviction that we'll come out winners even in this challenging time,” Goyal said. The rupee has weakened nearly 7% against the US dollar since the start of 2026, largely due to elevated crude oil prices following the US-Iran war. The domestic currency opened at 96.30 per dollar on Thursday, recovering from the previous session’s close of 96.82. Also Read | A weak rupee is rewriting the economics of studying abroad Some support for the rupee came after international crude prices eased overnight. Brent crude declined around 5% to hover near $105 per barrel after US President Donald Trump said negotiations aimed at securing peace with Iran were nearing completion. However, he also warned that additional strikes could not be ruled out if the talks break down, leaving global markets cautious. In a move aimed at stabilizing liquidity conditions, the Reserve Bank of India has scheduled a $5 billion dollar-rupee buy-sell swap auction with a three-year maturity on 26 May. The operation is expected to infuse rupee liquidity into the banking system and help contain excessive volatility in the currency market. No import restrictions Responding to questions on whether the Centre is considering restrictions on non-essential imports to ease pressure on the rupee and trade deficit, Goyal said there are no such plans at present. “No such plans of that sort right now, but we have, of course, made an appeal to all the citizens of India to be more conscious about their spending on products which are import-dependent,” he said. He added that many Indians were responding positively to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to support domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imported goods. Also Read | New land-transfer norms aim to unlock public assets for monetization “It’s just very natural that every Indian who trusts Prime Minister Modi has taken cognisance of that and is helping the country in every small way with their own actions. I'm really proud of every Indian who has taken Prime Minister Modi's appeal to heart and is contributing to nation-building,” Goyal said. Volatility persists Meanwhile, economists said the rupee remains vulnerable amid persistent global uncertainty and volatile commodity markets. Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, said the currency is approaching a psychologically significant level. “The rupee is almost at the level of ₹97/$, and it is hard to conjecture which way it will go. Several factors drive the rupee, and, in this study, we look at some of the quantifiable variables that affect the exchange rate. A short econometric exercise is done for this purpose,” Sabnavis said. “Interestingly, it has been observed that if the rupee is in a particular range for five sessions, it could enter the higher range. This is more an observation than a conclusion. We do hope you find this study interesting,” he added. Also Read | PM SVANidhi Scheme, PM Mudra Yojana may face repayment stress amid West Asia war