(Feb 6): India is not selling its US Treasury holdings, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Sanjay Malhotra said at a post-policy press conference on Friday.
“Our foreign exchange reserves had come down, so as a result of that” all holdings change, said Malhotra. “Those are fluctuations on our day-to-day or a week-to-week basis that we give out but there is no reduction in our holdings of US Treasuries.”
The country’s holdings of long-term US debt had dropped to a five-year low of US$174 billion ($222 billion) as of November, down 26% from a 2023 peak, according to US government data made available in January, as the RBI pushed to support a weakening rupee.
In October, the central bank pledged to support the local currency to snuff out speculative attacks. India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by US$10.5 billion during the month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The draw down continued in November, with the foreign exchange stockpile falling further to US$686.2 billion before rising to a record high of US$723.8 billion last week.
India’s sale of Treasuries followed a broader shift by some major economies out of the world’s biggest bond market as concerns rose around US exceptionalism.
See also: India holds rate, signals longer pause after US trade deal
Malhotra’s latest comments come in the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s decision to lower tariffs on India to 18% from 50%.
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