Foreign investors continue exit, withdraw over Rs 27,000 crore in May

Foreign investors continued to take exit from the Indian equities as they withdraw Rs 27,048 crore so far this month. As per the data from NSDL, the total outflows by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) from the equity market have reached Rs 2.2 trillion in 2026. This is higher than the Rs 1.66 trillion pulled out during the entire 2025.

The foreign investors’ mood indicate cautiousness among global investors amid an evolving global macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.

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FPIs were net sellers in all months of 2026, except February as they withdrew Rs 35,962 crore in January before turning net buyers in February, when they invested Rs 22,615 crore, the highest monthly inflow in 17 months.

The total buying investment through the primary market, so far in 2026, stands at Rs 12468 crores.

Experts suggest that as long as the FPIs continue to sell and crude price remains elevated, rupee is likely to weaken further.

Indian Rupee has declined nearly 7% against the US dollar so far this year. On Friday, the currency breached the 96 per dollar mark for the first time.

According to an SBI Research report, even an additional depreciation of Rs 2 in the rupee, from the FY27 current average at Rs 94, raises the effective crude oil price, pushing the landed import cost, which fully offsets the gains from the current fuel price hike.

“We calculate the threshold level of rupee depreciation beyond which the gains accruing to OMCs from the recent ₹3 per litre fuel price increase are effectively neutralized by the rising cost of crude oil imports,” is said.

Brent Crude has also been under pressure, hovering around $107/bbl.