Bank officials: The Reserve Bank of India intervened in the foreign exchange market on Thursday, using at least $2 billion to defend the rupee exchange rate.

Multiple bankers have stated that the Reserve Bank of India sold 2 to 3 billion US dollars on Thursday to resist the continuous pressure on the Indian Rupee, and intervened in the market again on Friday to push the rupee exchange rate back above 96 rupees per US dollar. The Indian central bank conducted sales through large state-owned banks before the market opened on Thursday, driving the rupee higher, and continued to sell US dollars throughout the day. Boosted by the intervention measures, the rupee rose by 0.64% on the day to 96.20; on Friday, the central bank sold US dollars again, pushing the exchange rate further above 96. Two industry insiders revealed that the size of the sales before the market opened on Thursday was around 500 million US dollars, with low market liquidity at the time amplifying the effectiveness of the intervention.