The rupee depreciated to a new intraday low of 92.37 per dollar tracking the rise in crude oil prices and selling in domestic equities, dealers said. However, the local currency trimmed some losses by the end of the trade as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened in the foreign exchange market via dollar sales.
The rupee settled at 92.20 per dollar, against the previous close of 92.04. The domestic unit has depreciated by 7.30 per cent in 2025-26 (FY26) so far, and has weakened by 2.52 per cent in the current calendar year (CY26) so far.
“After stumbling to a historic low, the rupee recouped some ground, anchored by central bank supports and a pullback in oil benchmarks. Though the rupee stabilised, the overarching momentum stays skewed to the downside. The spot rupee has resistance near 92.50, with downside protection hovering at 91.60,” said Dilip Parmar, senior research analyst at HDFC Securities.
Firm crude oil prices have raised concerns over India’s current account deficit and inflation trajectory, further weighing on sentiment toward the domestic currency.
Brent crude oil prices rose up to $101.5 per barrel during the day following attacks on oil and transport facilities, against previous day’s $92.06 per barrel.
Intensifying geopolitical tensions in West Asia over the past two weeks have heightened risk aversion in global markets and pushed crude prices higher, putting sustained pressure on the rupee and its Asian peers. The rupee has depreciated by 1.32 per cent since the beginning of the conflict in West Asia, in line with other Asian currencies; however, even before the beginning of the conflict, it was the worst performing unit in CY25. The rupee was the worst-performing Asian currency in 2025 as well.
“The rupee trimmed some losses later in the session, supported by easing crude prices and likely intervention by the RBI through dollar sales to curb excessive volatility. Despite the partial recovery, the near-term outlook for the rupee remains sensitive to geopolitical developments and oil price movements, with markets expecting continued volatility,” said Abhishek Goenka, founder & CEO of IFA Global.
The dollar index remained steady at 99.29 on Thursday. It measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies.
Meanwhile, government bond yields rose by 2 basis points to settle at 6.66 per cent against the previous close of 6.64 per cent.
Market participants said bond yields remained capped as the cutoff in the recent open market operation (OMO) purchase auction came in better than expected, raising expectations of a similar outcome in the upcoming auction on Friday. The RBI purchased securities at prices higher than prevailing market levels, which helped stabilise market sentiment.
Additionally, the central bank has been active in the secondary market purchases.
“The bond market tracked crude oil prices movement today (Thursday). The cut-off at the OMO auction will determine further movement,” said a dealer at a state-owned bank.
The central bank plans to purchase ₹50,000 crore worth of government bonds via OMO auction on Friday.
