Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India is planning to set up a separate futures exchange for currency trading, unconfirmed press reports said.

The report said the RBI was concerned its regulatory powers on domestic foreign exchange would be diluted if the contracts were traded on the stock and commodity exchanges, which may affect its currency management.

RBI, the report said, was reluctant to let foreign investors trade in rupee futures as they do not hedge a major part of its portfolio. The currency futures would be settled in rupees, it added.

At present, futures trading as the local currency is not permitted as the rupee is not fully convertible. Companies are also banned from trading in rupee contracts on offshore exchanges.