New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) aggressively intervened in currency markets on Wednesday (December 17) by selling dollars, which helped to prop the rupee, which has been on a downward spiral since a long time. According to bankers, due to the intervention by the country’s central bank, the rupee managed to check the fall and reach an intraday high of 89.75 against the U.S. dollar on the interbank order matching system. Prior to the intervention, it was seen near the 91.00 mark and was last trading at 90.28, reported Reuters.“At about 91, the rupee appears overly depreciated. The central bank had stayed relatively light on FX management in December (until now),” said V.R.C. Reddy, treasury head at Karur Vysya Bank.The RBI’s actions on Wednesday were consistent with its interventions in October and November toThe intervention on Wednesday matched Reserve Bank of India’s actions in October and November, when it aggressively stepped in on three occasions and disrupted persistent one-way moves in the rupee. In every instance, the central bank heavily sold dollars in both the spot and non-deliverable forward (NDF) markets, which led to intraday reversals.The RBI finally intervened after seeing a 1% slide over the previous four sessions, during which the Indian currency hit fresh lifetime lows each day.On December 15, the rupee had fallen to its lifetime low of Rs 90.74 against the US dollar. The Rupee has been falling rapidly this year, and its fall is linked to perceptions about the weak state of its economy and the limited appeal its equities hold for foreign investors. Foreign portfolio investments have seen a record outflow with $18 billion having left India in 2025 so far. This makes it “one of the worst-hit markets in terms of portfolio outflows” in the world. “Persistent risk aversion and a steady demand for dollars by importers” is also being cited by news reports as precipitate causes.The rupee has fallen almost 6% against the dollar year-to-date, becoming Asia’s worst performer this year. Steep U.S. tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods hurt exports to its biggest market with which it enjoyed a surplus.