Rupee drifts higher, traders gauge if rally has legs to extend

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SENSEX 73,975.63

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NIFTY 22,946.05

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NIFTY 22,946.05

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CRUDEOIL 9,414.00

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CRUDEOIL 9,414.00

 -159.00

GOLD 148,078.00

+ 160.00

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It was last at 94.8225, ‌up ⁠0.1% from its closing level on Friday, hovering around ⁠its strongest in over a month

By Reuters

Updated - October 19, 2026 at 12:33 PM. | MUMBAI

The Indian rupee nudged up on Monday, aided by dollar ​sales by foreign lenders and a modest retreat in oil ‌prices, while traders looked for cues to gauge whether ​a bounceback from near record low levels ⁠versus the dollar has room to extend.

The South Asian currency had climbed 2 per cent last week on the back of a fresh spate ‌of policy measures to shore it up after it threatened to breach record lows of near ‌97 per dollar.

It was last at 94.8225, ‌up ⁠0.1 per cent from its closing level on Friday, hovering around ⁠its strongest in over a month.

Traders pointed to foreign banks' dollar sales and lower oil prices as tailwinds for the rupee while ​retaining a cautious stance on ‌the currency's trajectory.

The bevy of policy measures -- including a dedicated window to supply dollars to oil refiners and cash margin requirements on derivatives to hedge certain current ‌account payments -- may have steadied the rupee, but analysts ​and traders reckon that underlying fundamentals need to improve for sustained gains.

"The pair (USD/INR) is firmly capped ⁠around 97 but the key thing to watch is whether it will move to retest those levels in the near ‌term and what sort of pushback it may draw from the RBI," a trader at a state-run lender said.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices were down nearly 2 per cent at $107.7 per barrel after US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs on Russia that may lead to ‌more Russian fuel exports.

The dollar index was steady at 101.8 while ​Asian currencies were little changed. The rupee is the region's second-best performer so far in October, gaining ⁠more than 1.5 per cent.

"With USD/INR holding below 95.00 for last 3 ⁠sessions, the focus shifts to 94.80–94.70. A sustained break below 94.80 could open the way towards 94.00 ‌over the coming weeks," said Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex.

"However, elevated crude ​prices remain a key risk."

Published on October 19, 2026

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