The Indian rupee fell to its all-time low on Monday, breaching the 95 level against the dollar even as the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty came under selling pressure for the second straight session, amid rising crude oil prices.
The rupee hit a historic low of 95.22 in the intraday trade.
The Indian rupee has become Asia’s worst-performing currency, as it has depreciated by over four per cent against the US dollar year-to-date. It depreciated nearly 10 per cent against the dollar in the current fiscal (till March 27, 2026).
In early trade, the rupee had recovered 128 paise from its all-time low to 93.57 from Friday, thanks to the Reserve Bank of India's move to impose new limits on onshore positions of banks—the central bank capped the Net Open Position (NOP-INR) for banks at USD 100 million, with compliance required by April 10.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 93.62 in the early trade. It then gained further ground to 93.57 against the US dollar—an increase of 128 paise from its previous close.
However, the cheer was short-lived as corporates entered arbitrage trades between the onshore spot market and non-deliverable forwards following the window opened up by the RBI's tightening of banks' forex positions, reported Reuters.
The consistent foreign portfolio outflows, concerns over the country's economic outlook, coupled with global uncertainty and rising crude prices, are being cited as the reasons for the weakening rupee.
This seems to be in stark contrast to the assurance of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who, on Monday, claimed that India's economic fundamentals are strong, and compared to other emerging market economies, the Indian rupee is "absolutely going fine" against the US dollar.
Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha on rupee depreciation, Sitharaman had said: "India's economy is strong, our fiscal situation is strong, and the entire world is praising our fiscal deficit management. Our forex reserves are solid.
"Compared to other emerging economies, the rupee is doing fine (theek chal raha hai)...Absolutely going fine."
