Rupee rises 26 paise to 95.44 against US dollar

The rupee strengthened 26 paise to close at 95.44 against the US dollar on Tuesday, supported by gains in domestic equities, a weaker dollar and falling crude prices. Analysts said RBI intervention and oil prices would remain key near-term drivers

Mumbai: The rupee pared initial losses and settled for the day higher by 26 paise at 95.44 against the US dollar on Tuesday, driven by positive domestic markets, a weaker greenback, and a fall in crude oil prices.

Forex traders said the overall weakness in the US dollar on declining odds of a rate hike may support the rupee at lower levels. The USD/INR pair remained largely range-bound around 95.50-96.00, with oil prices and Reserve Bank of India’s intervention likely to remain the key near-term drivers, they added.

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At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.74, then touched an intraday high of 95.40 and finally settled for the day at 95.44 against the greenback, higher by 26 paise from its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee settled with a marginal gain of 1 paisa at 95.70 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.96, lower by 0.04 per cent.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 2.99 per cent at USD 89.41 per barrel in futures trade. Dilip Parmar, Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said the combination of heavy central bank intervention and tumbling crude oil prices breathed fresh life into the domestic unit.

“A sharp retreat in global oil prices successfully revived broader market risk appetite, leaving the greenback struggling to sustain its early momentum as the Dollar Index (DXY) slipped beneath the 99 mark,” Parmar said, adding that the spot USD-INR maintains immediate support near 95.25 alongside overhead resistance positioned at 95.75.

On the domestic market front, Sensex climbed 286.98 points to settle at 77,656.09, while the Nifty advanced 115.50 points to settle at 24,334.55.

Foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 1,593.53 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data. On the domestic macroeconomic front, the Reserve Bank of India’s special USD-INR forex swap facility for FCNR(B) deposits, Overseas Foreign Currency Borrowings (OFCB) and External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) have mobilised foreign exchange inflows of USD 73 billion as of August 21, 2026, reflecting strong backing from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).