Rupee rises 22 paise to 96.51 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee rose 22 paise to 96.51 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Friday (July 24, 2026), on likely RBI intervention to stem its further slide after global crude oil prices crossed the $100-mark owing to heightened tensions in West Asia.

A softer greenback provided mild support to the local unit while Foreign Institutional Investor outflows, coupled with sustained slide in the domestic equity markets, maintained pressure, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weaker at 96.81 before rising to 96.51, up 22 paise from its previous close.

The rupee ended 20 paise weaker at 96.73 against the U.S. dollar on Thursday (July 23, 2026).

The U.S. military announced the 13th night of strikes on Thursday (July 23, 2026) against Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes. The attacks came after Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel.

“The key factors for the weak opening of the rupee were — Brent crude oil remained elevated, increasing dollar demand from Indian oil marketing companies while importer dollar buying remained strong through the session. RBI intervention via state-owned banks prevented a much larger depreciation, while softer dollar index provided only limited support,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally down by 0.01% at 101.43.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, crossed the $100-mark, trading 0.12% higher at $100.8 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex opened weaker for the fifth day in a row, tumbling 512.07 points to 75,869.38 in early trade while the Nifty was down 153 points to 23,713.60.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth ₹2,999.23 crore on a net basis on Thursday (July 23, 2026), according to exchange data.