MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India's net forward dollar book fell by $1.27 billion for up to one-year maturities in January, compared with a net fall of $6.49 billion in the previous month, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the central bank's website.

The central bank likely let its forward dollar liability mature in January, which could have led to an overall rise in the forwards position month-on-month, dealers said.

The central bank also likely bought fresh forwards to contain a sharp rise in the rupee, which moved in a 61.29-63.63 per dollar band in January given the total foreign exchange reserves rose to $327.88 bln in January from $319.71 bln in December, dealers added.

The RBI's net forward outstanding position for up to one year maturities was $31.54 billion as of January-end compared with $32.81 billion in December, according to the calculations.

The total short position in the up to one-year forwards market was $4.16 billion as of January-end, little changed from $4.28 billion in December and the total long position was $35.7 billion versus $37.09 billion.

The aggregate short positions in forwards for more than one year maturities stood at $25.97 billion, the RBI data showed.

Copyright Reuters, 2015