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The rupee traded in a narrow range and fell 5 paise to 94.98 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Monday (October 26, 2026), weighed down by elevated crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
Forex traders said the rupee opened on a negative note on risk aversion in global markets amid escalation of tensions in West Asia. However, softness in the U.S Dollar and U.S treasury yields cushioned the downside.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.92, then lost ground to touch 94.98, lower by 5 paise over its previous close.
On Friday (October 23, 2026), the rupee depreciated for the second consecutive day and fell 12 paise to close at 94.93 against the U.S dollar.
“The Indian rupee opened slightly lower on elevated crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. However, softness in the U.S. Dollar and U.S. treasury yields cushioned the downside,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset Sharekhan.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on risk aversion in global markets amid escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Elevated crude oil prices and selling pressure by FIIs may also pressurise the rupee. However, weak U.S Dollar and any fresh intervention by the RBI may support the rupee at lower levels,” Mr. Choudhary said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 101.49, lower by 0.15%.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.92% at $114.48 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex dropped 536.30 points to 72,583.86 in early trade; Nifty fell 200.10 points to 22,402.80.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth ₹887.65 crore on a net basis on Friday (October 23, 2026), according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, RBI data released on Friday (October 23, 2026) showed India’s forex reserves dropped by $5.011 billion to $721.016 billion during the week ended October 16. In the previous reporting week, the kitty declined by $8.578 billion to $726.027 billion.
Published – October 26, 2026 11:45 am IST
