The rupee appreciated 31 paise to 94.86 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Thursday (October 15, 2026), supported by the ongoing impact of the Reserve Bank of India’s structural forex interventions and liquidity-tightening measures.

Market participants attributed the rupee’s continued appreciation to central bank intervention and the unwinding of long dollar positions.

However, ongoing external macroeconomic pressures are likely to temper further gains, they said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.95, then gained ground to touch 94.86, registering a gain of 31 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday (October 14, 2026), the rupee appreciated 19 paise to close at 95.17 against the U.S. dollar.

The rupee has now crossed 95.50–95.00 range, bringing 94.80 into focus, CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.

“A sustained break below 94.80 could open the door to another 50–75 paise of appreciation. And the reduced direct dollar demand from oil companies could support the momentum,” Mr. Pabari added.

Meanwhile, India’s WPI inflation accelerated to 11.39% from 9.92%, with food inflation reaching 8.66%. Combined with CPI inflation of 5.54%, dual inflation pressure makes it very difficult for the RBI to turn dovish.

Market expectations of rate hikes over the next 12 months have also increased. If tighter monetary policy materialises, it could support the rupee through favourable interest-rate differentials and carry flows, Mr. Pabari said.

Meanwhile, the RBI’s recent forex measures, including the special dollar window for oil companies, are helping ease immediate pressure on the spot market.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.54% at 101.99.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 1.66% at $104.30 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex climbed 354 points to 73,157.43 in early trade, while the Nifty was trading up 96.15 points to 22,726.05.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,857.44 crore on a net basis on Wednesday (October 14, 2026), according to exchange data.

The rupee strengthened against the U.S. currency for the sixth consecutive session on Monday, closing higher by 12 paise at 95.31 (provisional) following a sharp drop in global crude oil prices and a softer greenback after US President Donald Trump decided to hold off strikes against Iran.

FII inflows and gains in domestic stock markets provided further support to the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.15 against the greenback and traded in a tight range of 95.11-95.34 during the day. It eventually settled at 95.31 (provisional), up 12 paise from its previous close.

The rupee has rebounded by more than 3 per cent in the six trading sessions to Monday, aided by FII inflows and easing of tensions in the West Asia region. The unit had closed higher by 7 paise at 95.43 against the US dollar on Friday.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The president added that a plan was in place for the US forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II” on Sunday. However, he decided to scrap the plan and give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from key Gulf leaders — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — as well as at the request of unnamed Iranian officials.

“The rupee gained as US President Donald Trump cancelled his plan to attack Iran over the weekend. He also said the US and Iran are due to negotiate Monday evening. This boosted global risk sentiments. A sharp fall in crude oil prices, too, supported the rupee,” Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on a rise in risk appetite in global markets… Any renewed geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran may cap sharp upside. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in the range of ₹94.90 to ₹95.50,” he said.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 99.84.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 5.06 per cent lower at $83.48 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex rose 544.39 points, or 0.70 per cent, to close at 78,639.03, while the Nifty was up 390.70 points, or 1.60 per cent, to settle at 24,774.30.

Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth ₹277.48 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

The RBI data released on Friday showed that the country’s forex reserves jumped $6.118 billion to $682.354 billion during the week ended July 24. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased $1.08 billion to $676.237 billion.

The central government’s fiscal deficit stood at 18.2 per cent of the full-year target at the end of June, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts on Friday.