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The rupee depreciated for the third straight day and settled 29 paise lower at 95.22 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Monday (October 26, 2026), weighed down by elevated crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in the West Asia.
Forex traders said the Indian rupee declined on a stronger dollar and slight gains in U.S. Treasury yields, while a recovery in the domestic markets cushioned the downside.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.92 against the dollar, then lost ground to touch an intra-day low of 95.26 and finally settled for the day at 95.22 (provisional), registering a decline of 29 paise over its previous close.
On Friday (October 23), the rupee depreciated 12 paise to close at 94.93 against the U.S. dollar.
In the last three sessions, the rupee has lost 84 paise against the U.S. dollar.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias due to risk aversion on escalation of geopolitical tensions in West Asia and between Russia and Ukraine.
“Elevated crude oil prices amid supply concerns and selling pressure by FIIs may also pressurise the rupee. However, any intervention by the RBI may support the rupee at lower levels,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset Sharekhan.
The USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 94.90 to 95.50.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.01% at 101.82.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 1.41% at $115.08 per barrel in futures trade.
“The immediate USD/INR range to monitor is 94.30-95.50. A sustained move above ₹95.50 would indicate renewed depreciation pressure, whereas a break below ₹94.30 could extend the rupee’s recovery.
“Overall, the currency outlook remains cautious, with oil supply risks and the direction of global interest rates likely to outweigh short-term support from central bank measures,” said Gaurav Garg, Head — Research, Lemonn.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 482.92 points to settle at 73,606.75, while the Nifty rallied 153.20 points to 22,753.20.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth ₹887.65 crore on a net basis on Friday (October 23), according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, RBI data released on Friday 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 04:41 pm IST
