Rupee closes unchanged at 95.89 against U.S. dollar

The rupee pared initial gains to close unchanged at 95.89 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Friday (September 18, 2026) amid a strong American currency.

Positive momentum in domestic equity markets, however, supported the Indian currency, forex traders said.

They also said the rupee’s fall was capped as crude prices slid below the 104-per-barrel level, and U.S. bond yields eased after the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 25 basis points.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.75 and touched the intraday high of 95.71 before settling at 95.89 (provisional) against the greenback, its previous closing level.

The local unit had ended 2 paise higher at 95.89 against the American currency on Thursday (September 17, 2026), after declining 150 paise, or nearly 1.5%, in the preceding eight sessions since the closing level of 94.43 against the greenback recorded on September 4.

Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said the rupee traded on a flat note after opening higher on firm domestic markets and weak crude oil prices. However, it gave up initial gains on a positive dollar.

“Traders may take cues from industrial production data from the U.S. The USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of ₹95.65 to ₹96.15,” Mr. Choudhary said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02% lower at 99.97.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.93% lower at $103.85 per barrel in futures trade.

In domestic equities, Sensex fell 19.63 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 74,294.96, while Nifty gained 75.80 points, or 0.33%, to close at 23,346.40.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,208.76 crore on a net basis on Thursday (September 17, 2026), according to exchange data.