The rupee depreciated 17 paise to 95.59 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Monday (August 17, 2026), as the overall risk-reward appears tilted towards weakness.

Forex traders said investors’ sentiment turned cautious after the Reserve Bank of India on August 14 said that its swap facility for FCNR (B) deposits will be available only for deposits mobilised till August 31. Earlier, the cut-off date for Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) or FCNR (B) deposits was September 30.

Under the FCNR (B) scheme, banks offer attractive interest rates to mobilise foreign currency deposits.

The Reserve Bank on Friday (August 14) said its concessional swap facility, introduced to encourage foreign currency inflows, has attracted USD 56.84 billion till August 13.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.50, then fell to 95.59, down 17 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee appreciated 3 paise to close at 95.42 against the U.S. dollar.

“After attracting nearly $50 billion of forex inflows, the central bank has now announced that the facility will be available only for deposits mobilised until August 31, 2026. The support from these inflows remains significant, but the market will eventually begin looking beyond this temporary cushion,” CR Forex Advisors MD- Amit Pabari said.

While the rupee may remain supported in the near term, the overall risk-reward appears tilted towards weakness, Pabari said.

“Technically, the 95.20–95.30 zone is likely to act as an important support area. As long as this level holds, USD/INR could gradually move towards the 96.20–96.50 region in the coming days,” he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.54, down 0.12%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.47% at $88.94 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 284.85 points to 77,717.05 in early trade, while the Nifty dipped 69.25 points to 24,297.05.

Foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth ₹508.12 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

India’s forex reserves jumped $14.136 billion to $707.002 billion during the week ended August 7, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. The overall kitty had jumped by $10.512 billion to $692.866 billion in the previous reporting week ended July 31.

The Rupee depreciated 20 paise to close at 95.38 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Monday (July 6, 2026) as a strengthening greenback weighed on emerging market currencies.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the Rupee opened at 95.25 against the American currency and traded in a range of 95.22-95.48 during the session.

The Rupee finally closed at 95.38 (provisional), down 20 paise from its previous close.

On Friday (July 3, 2026) , the rupee appreciated 17 paise to close at 95.18 against the U.S. dollar.

“Indian rupee declined as the U.S. dollar firmed up, as markets continue to price in one rate hike this year. However, positive domestic markets and weakness in crude oil prices supported the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan.

Mr. Choudhary further added that “hedging demand from importers may cap sharp upside. Traders may take cues from ISM services PMI data from the U.S. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.10 to 95.60”.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 101.12, up 0.26%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.76% at $71.57 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex jumped 521.16 points to settle at 78,285.07, while the Nifty rose 159.50 points to 24,430.35.

Foreign institutional investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹1,355.33 crore on a net basis on Friday (July 3, 2026), according to exchange data.

Forex traders said whenever fresh foreign inflows enter the country, the central bank is likely to use the opportunity to rebuild its reserve position rather than allowing the rupee to strengthen too much.

India’s forex reserves dropped $5.654 billion to $666.933 billion during the week ended June 26, the RBI said on Friday (July 3,2026).

In the previous reporting week, the kitty jumped $963 million to $672.587 billion.

The kitty had expanded to an all-time high of $728.494 billion during the week ended February 27 this year before the onset of the West Asia conflict, which led to several weeks of a drop as the rupee came under pressure and the RBI had to intervene in the forex market through dollar sales.

The rupee fell 7 paise to settle at 89.94 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Thursday (January 8, 2026) weighed down by a host of factors, including higher crude oil prices, foreign fund outflows and a stronger U.S. dollar.

The apprehension of any further tariffs by the U.S. and weak sentiments at the domestic equity markets further pressured the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 89.96 and traded in the range of 89.73 to 90.13. It eventually settled at 89.94 (provisional), down 7 paise from its previous close.

“India faces big trouble on its exports if the U.S. increases tariffs by even 10 bps [basis points], as sentimentally it changes from ‘the deal in pipeline’ to ‘back to square one’. RBI shorts in the markets will keep the dollar buying sentiment,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

The rupee is expected in the range of 89.80 to 90.30 on Friday (January 9), he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02% higher at 98.70.

Read | Is India’s 8.2% growth rate sustainable?

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.85% higher at $60.47 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex tanked 780.18 points to settle at 84,180.9, while the Nifty fell 263.90 points to 25,876.85.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,527.71 crore on Wednesday (January 7), according to exchange data.

The government, in its latest estimate on Wednesday (January 7), projected the country’s GDP to grow by 7.4% in the current fiscal year, maintaining its status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy despite punitive U.S. tariffs and geopolitical tensions.

The First Advance Estimates released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation put GDP growth in 2025-26 at better than 7.3%, forecast by the RBI and the government’s initial projection of 6.3-6.8%.