What happened
The rupee started Monday, 26 October 2026, on a weaker footing, trading at 94.98 to the US dollar in early deals. That is a drop of 5 paise, within a narrow band. On the interbank foreign exchange market it opened at 94.92 and then eased to 94.98 compared with its last close.
According to reports in Economic Times, BusinessLine and The Hindu, all based on PTI copy, forex traders said the currency opened weak on risk aversion in global markets, as tensions in the Middle East escalated. Risk aversion means investors pull money out of riskier assets and markets.
Elevated crude oil prices also weighed. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.92% higher at $114.48 per barrel in futures trade.
A softer US dollar and lower US treasury yields cushioned the fall. The dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of six currencies, stood at 101.49, down 0.15%.
On Friday, 23 October, the rupee fell for a second straight session, losing 12 paise to close at 94.93.
What it means for you
One paisa is one-hundredth of a rupee, so a 5 paise move is small. Still, a weaker rupee makes imports costlier, and India buys a large share of its oil abroad. Rupee weakness alongside high crude is something importers and travellers abroad watch closely.
If you send money to India, a lower rupee means each unit of foreign currency converts into slightly more rupees. You can check the rate with our Currency Converter or the Money Transfer to India Calculator.
Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said he expects the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias. He cited risk aversion, elevated crude and selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). He added that a weak dollar and any fresh RBI intervention may support the rupee at lower levels.
Background
Domestic equities were also lower in early trade. The Sensex dropped 536.30 points to 72,583.86, and the Nifty fell 200.10 points to 22,402.80.
Exchange data showed that FIIs were net buyers on Friday, with purchases of ₹887.65 crore in equities after accounting for their sales. For more on October flows, see our report on FPI outflows from Indian equities.
RBI data released on Friday showed India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $5.011 billion to $721.016 billion in the week ended 16 October. In the previous reporting week they had declined by $8.578 billion to $726.027 billion.
