Rupee falls 4 paise to 95.74 against US dollar in early trade
Forex traders said the RBI's continued intervention through state-run banks helped prevent a sharper decline, keeping USD/INR in a narrow range despite weakness in Asian equities and renewed geopolitical uncertainty around Iran.
The Indian rupee slipped 4 paise to 95.74 against the US dollar during Tuesday's early trade, affected by high crude prices and increased demand for dollars by importers. Forex traders noted that the Reserve Bank of India's ongoing support through state-run banks helped curb a more significant drop, keeping the USD/INR pair within a narrow range, despite lower Asian stock markets and heightened geopolitical tension surrounding Iran.
The rupee opened at 95.74 on the interbank foreign exchange market, a 4-paise decrease from its last close. On Monday, the rupee gained a mere 1 paisa to 95.70 against the US buck. Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, stated that the rupee remains confined to a tight range around ₹95.50–96.00, with oil prices and RBI intervention as the main near-term influences.
Bhansali added that the rupee has been range-bound for the past two weeks, with oil firms and RBI purchasing dollars at lower levels while the central bank protected the rupee's downside by selling dollars near 95.75. The dollar index, measuring the greenback's strength against six currencies, was trading at 99.04, up 0.04 percent due to safe-haven demand following the US's intensified sanctions on Iran, although the dollar has been under pressure from bond-buyback expectations.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 0.30 percent to $92.45 per barrel in futures trade. In domestic markets, the Sensex fell 30 points to 77,336.32, while the Nifty dropped 38.80 points to 24,179.50. Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹1,181.66 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.
The Reserve Bank of India's special USD-INR forex swap facility, catering to FCNR(B) deposits, OFCB, and ECB, attracted $73 billion in foreign exchange inflows as of August 21, 2026, indicating strong support from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
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