Rupee falls 20 paise to 95.95 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee slipped 20 paise to 95.95 against the US dollar during Monday's early trade, as the greenback surged and outflows of foreign funds persisted due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Forex traders noted that high global crude oil prices further weighed on the local currency. At the interbank forex market, the rupee debuted at 95.89 against the American dollar and slipped to 95.95, marking a 20-paise decline from its prior closing level.

Earlier, on Friday, the rupee gained 24 paise, closing at 95.75 per US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the dollar's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.15 percent to 101.11. Despite Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, climbing 2.31 percent to $106.81 per barrel due to U.S. President Donald Trump's rejection of Iran's peace proposal, the rupee is anticipated to commence trading near 95.80 and likely stay within the range of 95.50 to 96.00.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) aims to maintain the 96.00 figure within this range. Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, commented on the situation. On the domestic stock market, the Sensex dropped 730 points to 73,170.12, while the Nifty fell 231.50 points to 22,908.95. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) netted a sale of ₹3,693.93 crore of equities on Friday.

Additionally, India's forex reserves fell $14.881 billion to $765.901 billion during the week concluded on September 18, attributed to a decline in foreign currency assets, according to RBI data released on Friday.