What happened
The Indian rupee lost ground on Monday, 2 November 2026, slipping to 94.97 per US dollar in early deals, a drop of 21 paise, according to reports in BusinessLine, The Hindu and the Economic Times. The reports said a broadly firmer dollar in global markets weighed on the currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, where banks trade currencies with each other, the rupee opened at 94.90 and then eased to 94.97. On Friday, 30 October, it had closed at 94.76.
Forex traders said a positive domestic market and softer crude oil prices cushioned the fall. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 3.07% at $109.95 per barrel in futures trade. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of six currencies, was at 101.94, up 0.07%.
On the equity side, the Sensex rose 764.72 points to 75,216.80 and the Nifty gained 201.40 points to 23,255.90 in early trade. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth ₹3,598.54 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
What it means for you
A weaker rupee makes imports, including oil, costlier in rupee terms, and it raises the cost of things paid for in dollars, such as foreign travel or overseas fees. Indians abroad sending money home get slightly more rupees per dollar when the rupee falls. You can check conversions with the Currency Converter.
Anindya Banerjee of Kotak NEO said USDINR is likely to trade between 94.40 and 95.60 after ending October near 94.95. He said softer crude would help the rupee, while renewed oil strength would push the pair toward the upper end of that range.
Background
Banerjee credited steps taken by the RBI and its operations in the market with keeping swings in check, backed by reserves of around $720 billion. RBI data released on Friday showed India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $1.269 billion to $719.748 billion in the week ended 30 October. In the previous reporting week, ended 16 October, they had dropped $5.011 billion to $721.016 billion.
Markets are tracked through indices such as the Sensex and the Nifty 50.
