Indian rupee falls to provisional 94.92 per dollar, ending six-session rise

The Indian rupee closed provisionally at 94.92 per US dollar in Mumbai on Monday, October 19, down three paise and ending a six-session rise, according to PTI. The reversal came as Indian shares fell sharply, putting the currency’s recent recovery under pressure.

PTI reported that the rupee opened at 94.90, strengthened to 94.75 during the session and weakened as far as 94.97 before settling at 94.92. On Friday, October 16, it had gained 10 paise to close at 94.89, its sixth consecutive daily advance.

Equity losses and oil prices weighed on the rupee

PTI put Brent crude futures at $108.58 a barrel, down 1.17% at the time of its report, while the dollar index was up 0.09% at 101.93. In separate reporting on October 19, The New Zealand Herald put Brent at $107.80 a barrel after a fall from nearly $110 on Friday. The figures describe prices observed in different reports, rather than a single closing price.

Reserve Bank measures and the currency’s recent gains

The rupee had appreciated by about 2% during the week ended October 16. PTI said Reserve Bank of India measures to curb demand for dollars in the spot market supported that gain. According to RBI data cited by PTI, India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $8.578 billion to $726.027 billion in the week ended October 9, following a $12.952 billion decline in the preceding reporting week.

Gaurav Garg, head of research at Lemonn, told PTI that Reserve Bank measures could steady short-term currency movements, but a sustained recovery would depend on lower oil prices, stronger foreign capital flows and easing external pressure. Anuj Choudhary, a research analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, expected a positive bias for the rupee but said high crude prices and foreign investor outflows could limit gains.