Non-Deliverable Forward Calculator
The formula
What the ndf settlement tells you
The cash-settled workaround for restricted currencies (INR, KRW, BRL, CNY…) — you never touch the local money; the contract pays the difference between your agreed rate and the official fixing.
Calculation: Settlement = (fix − ref)/ref × notional (in USD), discounted for tenor. Enter your inputs and every substitution is shown below the result.
Reading the result
NDF rates carry the offshore-onshore spread — their forward points embed convertibility risk and capital-flow regimes, so they are a cheap gauge of policy pressure.
Rules of thumb: NDF volume is ~25–35% of EM FX forwards; offshore spreads of 20–100 pips signal intervention periods
Limitations and best practice
Fixing-source risk is the whole game: which window, which authority, which day — disputes live there; and hedge accounting treats NDFs as derivatives like any other.
This calculator gives an estimate based on standard formulas; it is not professional financial, medical, legal or engineering advice. Verify anything you plan to act on with a qualified professional and your own records.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just use a deliverable forward?
Who provides NDFs?
Does the NDF fix move with the onshore rate?
Source & methodology
BIS OTC derivatives statistics; standard NDF market conventions.
Non-Deliverable Forward: what this tool answers
This page was written for one job: turning your own inputs into a defensible figure, with the working shown. There are plenty of pages about Non-Deliverable Forward; almost none of them show the working. This one does: the formula, every input, a fully computed example, and a sensitivity analysis calculated live from this engine’s own defaults.
Money decisions in Finance & Banking almost always reduce to timing: a dollar today versus a dollar next month is a different dollar, and Non-Deliverable Forward encodes that difference. When people get Non-Deliverable Forward wrong, they usually get the timing wrong — forgetting that USD notional moves, or that rates quoted and rates paid are different numbers.
Most confusion about Non-Deliverable Forward comes from mixing up the input you control with the input you merely observe. The formula treats them identically, but your decisions should not: one deserves measurement, the other deserves a defensible estimate.
What makes a calculation page trustworthy is that its copy is derived from its own arithmetic: here NDF settlement (USD) = $-60,857.65, recomputed every time a field changes, and the sensitivity section ranks the inputs that move the result — Reference fixing at maturity first, at ≈32.3 % of the headline for a ten-percent error either way in that input — which is the thread the rest of this guide pulls on.
Inside the Non-Deliverable Forward calculation: formula and every input
One formula, published in full: Settlement = (fix − ref)/ref × notional (in USD), discounted for tenor. Anything you can read, you can reproduce in a spreadsheet, and that reproducibility is the whole point of printing it rather than hiding it behind a button.
USD notional (example value 240,852) is a quantity rather than a category — precision here is cheap and worth having. The example value is there to demonstrate the mechanics, not to describe your situation — overwrite it.
NDF fixing rate (agreed) (example value 70) is a numeric input whose unit is fixed by the label; a wrong unit is a wrong answer wearing a plausible disguise. Rates are the most mis-transcribed input on any page like this; copy it from the document rather than retyping from memory.
Reference fixing at maturity (example value 94) is a numeric input whose unit is fixed by the label; a wrong unit is a wrong answer wearing a plausible disguise. Replace the example with the figure from your own records — the tool recomputes instantly and the printed steps follow your numbers.
Tenor (days) (example value 91) is a numeric input whose unit is fixed by the label; a wrong unit is a wrong answer wearing a plausible disguise. Use the value as of today, not as of the last time you looked — time fields drift silently.
USD discount rate (%) (example value 5) is a measured number in the unit named by the label; the formula does not convert for you. Enter it exactly as your document states it — quoted annual, monthly and effective rates are three different numbers.
A fully worked Non-Deliverable Forward example
Abstract formulas are hard to trust, so here is the complete substitution using the default inputs, written the way an examiner would want it. Starting figures: USD notional, NDF fixing rate (agreed), Reference fixing at maturity, Tenor (days). The computed NDF settlement (USD) comes out at $-60,857.65, which the interpretation band labels “You pay $60,858 — the currency strengthened versus your fix: the hedge cost is the opportunity”.
- Differential = (69.93 − 93.97) ÷ 93.97 = -25.583%
- × $240,852 = -$61,616 gross
- Discount at 5.0% for 0.249 yr → -$60,858
Gross (undiscounted) — $-61,616.28. If your inputs change, this is usually the first companion figure to move.
Per $1M notional — $-255,826.33. Compare it against the main result of $-60,857.65 before drawing conclusions.
Move in pips — -2,404.0. This is the number experienced users quote when the headline alone would mislead.
Discount factor — 0.988. This is the number experienced users quote when the headline alone would mislead.
Keep this worked example open while you enter your own figures: matching the shape of the substitution is the fastest way to spot a unit or convention mistake.
Scenario table: Non-Deliverable Forward at ±10 % and ±20 % of the key input
Single-point answers invite false confidence, so the same engine was run across a band around the input that matters most here. Each row is a full recalculation of Non-Deliverable Forward, not an interpolation.
| Reference fixing at maturity setting | NDF settlement (USD) |
|---|---|
| 80 % of the example value | $-16,600.42 |
| 90 % of the example value | $-41,187.77 |
| example inputs | $-60,857.65 |
| 110 % of the example value | $-76,951.18 |
| 120 % of the example value | $-90,362.47 |
The corridor runs from $-90,362.47 to $-16,600.42 across that band — which is the range worth planning inside rather than the single $-60,857.65 point estimate. Reproduce it in the form above by editing Reference fixing at maturity alone; the substitution steps will follow your figures exactly.
The levers behind Non-Deliverable Forward, ranked by effect
This list was computed for this specific engine just now: each numeric input was nudged ±10 % while every other field held its example value, and the NDF settlement (USD) was recalculated from scratch. For Non-Deliverable Forward the ranking is measured rather than guessed, and it belongs to these defaults: shift the starting point and the order can shift with it.
- Nudge Reference fixing at maturity by ±10 % and Non-Deliverable Forward lands between $-76,951.18 and $-41,187.77 (sensitivity ≈32.3 %)
- NDF fixing rate +10 % → Non-Deliverable Forward = $-43,154.75 · −10 % → $-78,560.54 (the NDF settlement (USD) shifts ≈29.1 %)
- Nudge USD notional by ±10 % and Non-Deliverable Forward lands between $-66,943.41 and $-54,771.88 (sensitivity ≈10.0 %)
- Nudge Tenor by ±10 % and Non-Deliverable Forward lands between $-60,932.67 and $-60,782.81 (sensitivity ≈0.1 %)
- USD discount rate +10 % → Non-Deliverable Forward = $-60,782.81 · −10 % → $-60,932.67 (the NDF settlement (USD) shifts ≈0.1 %)
Reference fixing at maturity is the dominant lever here: ten percent either way moves the result by about 32.3 %, from $-76,951.18 to $-41,187.77. That is where a careless figure does the most damage, so check it against a source, and treat NDF fixing rate as the second priority (≈29.1 % per ten percent). The rest of the inputs earn only a rounding-error of attention, and that asymmetry is the practical payoff of measuring rather than asserting.
Interpreting the Non-Deliverable Forward verdict
Nobody acts on a bare figure — they act on a figure with a comparison attached. On the example inputs the band reads “You pay $60,858 — the currency strengthened versus your fix: the hedge cost is the opportunity”; your own figures place you on a different rung of the same ladder. The sensitivity list shows how far a modest input error moves you along that ladder: for Reference fixing at maturity, ±10 % covers $-76,951.18 to $-41,187.77. The practical reading rules: compare against your own history before comparing against other people; treat band boundaries as zones, not walls — one point on the wrong side of a threshold rarely changes a real outcome; and when a companion output contradicts the headline, believe the pair.
Placing this figure in context: calculators of this kind differ less in arithmetic than in what they choose to ignore. This one keeps USD notional explicit so that the omissions are visible rather than hidden in a preset.
The errors that quietly break a Non-Deliverable Forward figure
Fixing-source risk is the whole game: which window, which authority, which day — disputes live there; and hedge accounting treats NDFs as derivatives like any other. This calculator gives an estimate based on standard formulas; it is not professional financial, medical, legal or engineering advice. Verify anything you plan to act on with a qualified professional and your own records.
Comparing a Non-Deliverable Forward computed here with a figure from another source that uses different conventions. Same name, different denominator — the disagreement is usually in the definitions, not the data.
Attention is also misallocated between fields. Having measured this engine, we can say where it belongs: Reference fixing at maturity first, everything else second.
Another is comparing across contexts: a Non-Deliverable Forward computed with one set of conventions should never be lined up against a figure computed with another. Check the inputs behind both before ranking them.
Non-Deliverable Forward verification checklist
- Compare the result with one independent method or published benchmark.
- Compare the output against one published benchmark or a colleague’s independent estimate.
- Re-verify Reference fixing at maturity against a source document — ten percent of error there moves the headline by ≈32.3 %.
- Record the date and the inputs alongside the number so future-you knows what was assumed.
- Verify each input against its original source document, not memory.
- Run the ±10 % stress on the top two levers and check that your conclusion survives both.
Step by step: getting a trustworthy Non-Deliverable Forward out of this tool
The tool does the arithmetic; the routine below is what makes the arithmetic trustworthy. Five steps, a minute total — and afterwards you will know not just what the number is, but which assumption produced it.
Step 1 — collect, then type. Everything this tool asks for is listed above (usd notional, ndf fixing rate (agreed), reference fixing at maturity, tenor (days), usd discount rate (%)). Pull each figure from something you can point at — paperwork, a dashboard, a label — before touching a field. Guesswork at the input stage cannot be repaired at the interpretation stage. Numbers are cheap to produce and expensive to retract; the extra minute is the cheapest insurance available.
Step 2 — start from the case you can defend. Enter pessimistic-but-honest figures first; the optimistic run is a ceiling, not a plan. A conclusion that holds on conservative inputs holds everywhere. Comparisons are cheap: run the identical calculation for the alternative and look at the gap.
Step 3 — measure what deserves measuring. The ranked levers above tell you where a careful figure pays off. Everything else can stay approximate, which is a licence to stop hunting for data you do not need. Numbers are cheap to produce and expensive to retract; the extra minute is the cheapest insurance available.
Step 4 — compute a corridor, not a point. Three runs — worst, likely, best — turn Non-Deliverable Forward from a snapshot into a range. Plan against the pessimistic end and treat the optimistic end as the upside story. If a result feels obviously right, that is the moment to check the inputs hardest.
Step 5 — schedule the next run. In Finance & Banking the inputs drift quietly. Put a reminder a quarter out, re-enter the same fields, and read the change rather than the level. Write the figure down before moving on; memory flatters whichever number you saw last.
From calculation to decision: where Non-Deliverable Forward earns its keep
Finance & Banking arguments end at arithmetic or they do not end. Non-Deliverable Forward is the arithmetic: $-60,857.65 on the example inputs, reproducible by anyone who types the same numbers. Suspiciously tidy answers deserve the same scrutiny as untidy ones.
The audience for this page is people who need one trustworthy number before their next decision. In professional Currency & International practice the pattern is always the same — screen with Non-Deliverable Forward, then invest slow analysis only in whatever survives the screen. Half of a good calculation is knowing which input you would hate to be wrong about.
Re-running this page costs nothing and catches the slow drifts that never announce themselves. In Finance & Banking the expensive mistakes are rarely sudden; they are small changes in USD notional that nobody recalculated for a year. Most surprises in numbers are surprises about inputs, not about formulas.
Quick answers: what searchers ask about Non-Deliverable Forward
What affects Non-Deliverable Forward the most?
The short answer: Reference fixing at maturity. The longer answer is the sensitivity table on this page, where every numeric input was probed by ten percent and the NDF settlement (USD) recalculated — Reference fixing at maturity moved it furthest, by roughly 32.3 % ($-76,951.18 to $-41,187.77).
Which matters more: ndf fixing rate or reference fixing at maturity?
Reference fixing at maturity, by a factor of about 1.1. Concretely: ten percent on Reference fixing at maturity is worth ≈32.3 % of Non-Deliverable Forward, the same nudge on NDF fixing rate only ≈29.1 %. That ranking is re-computed for each page from that page’s own defaults.
What is a typical Non-Deliverable Forward?
On the worked example above Non-Deliverable Forward comes out at $-60,857.65. Treat that as one point on a distribution rather than a norm: the bands, the companion outputs and the sensitivity ranking tell you how wide the plausible range really is.
How do I calculate Non-Deliverable Forward by hand?
Three steps: write the formula (Settlement = (fix − ref)/ref × notional (in USD), discounted for tenor), insert your values, and simplify. The worked example section shows exactly that chain for the default inputs; replicating it once on paper teaches you more about Non-Deliverable Forward than any number of calculator runs.
What happens to Non-Deliverable Forward if reference fixing at maturity changes by 10 %?
Try it in the form above and the printed substitution will follow you; the pre-computed answer for the defaults is $-76,951.18 to $-41,187.77 across the ten-percent probe, i.e. ≈32.3 % sensitivity on the NDF settlement (USD).
Is the Non-Deliverable Forward result of $-60,857.65 good or bad?
The tool answers “what”, not “whether”: $-60,857.65 carries the verdict “You pay $60,858 — the currency strengthened versus your fix: the hedge cost is the opportunity” for the default case, which is a starting interpretation rather than a verdict on your situation. Re-run with your own figures and compare the bands.
Can Non-Deliverable Forward be negative or empty?
Yes, and that is informative rather than broken: a negative Non-Deliverable Forward usually means the inputs encode an outflow or a shortfall, and the verdict band above labels exactly that situation instead of hiding it.
Should I use Non-Deliverable Forward for large purchases?
Yes — big purchases should never clear on gut feel. Run the number here, then stress the two biggest inputs; a decision that survives a ±10 % squeeze is genuinely solid.
Why not just use a deliverable forward?
Because the currency is not freely convertible onshore — offshore NDF is the only liquid instrument.
Who provides NDFs?
Global banks with offshore books; corporates use them via brokers — retail has no direct access.
Can this tool see the numbers I type?
It cannot. There is no submission step: the calculation happens in your browser and the result disappears when you close the page. Treat the fields above as a scratchpad rather than a form.
The vocabulary of Non-Deliverable Forward
- Gross (undiscounted)
- $-61,616.28 in the default Non-Deliverable Forward calculation — one of the secondary figures an experienced reader checks before trusting the primary number.
- Per $1M notional
- $-255,826.33 on the example inputs — a companion figure printed beside the headline of Non-Deliverable Forward so that no result is read in isolation.
- Move in pips
- -2,404.0 for the Non-Deliverable Forward worked case; it sits next to the main result because it carries context the headline leaves out.
- NDF settlement (USD)
- The primary output of this tool: $-60,857.65 for the default inputs, computed exactly from Settlement = (fix − ref)/ref × notional (in USD), discounted for tenor.
- Worked example
- The calculation written out in full so that nothing on this page has to be taken on trust.
- Verdict band
- The plain-language label — here “You pay $60,858 — the currency strengthened versus your fix: the hedge cost is the opportunity” — mapping the computed figure onto experience-based ranges for Finance & Banking.
- Sensitivity (±10 %)
- How far the Non-Deliverable Forward moves when a single input is nudged ten percent either way; the ranked list on this page is computed live from this engine.
Methodology, sources and limits
Everything above runs on one stated formula, applied without hidden coefficients: Settlement = (fix − ref)/ref × notional (in USD), discounted for tenor. Source of record: BIS OTC derivatives statistics; standard NDF market conventions. Any other implementation of this model should return the same figure for the same inputs. If one does not, the difference is in its assumptions — which this page prints and that one probably does not.
Nothing here replaces a qualified professional, and nothing here is approximate either — the arithmetic is exact, and the honesty is in the inputs you supply. What that buys you is reproducibility — two people, two browsers, the same arithmetic, and a printed trail from inputs to result that either of them can audit.
After the number: what to do with it
Save the number together with its inputs and today’s date; a Non-Deliverable Forward figure without context is unusable the moment an input changes.
Whoever you are (people who need one trustworthy number before their next decision), the next step is the same: replace the example inputs with your own, note the date, and re-run whenever a figure moves. In Finance & Banking, a dated figure is a trend, and an undated one is a rumour.