Mumbai

The Indian rupee on Monday weakened further to close at a record low of 96.35 against the US dollar, pressured by rising global crude oil prices, persistent geopolitical tensions, and continued strength in the Americancurrency.

At the interbank foreign exchange market in Mumbai, the rupee opened at 96.19 per dollar and slipped further to an intraday low of 96.39, before settling provisionally at 96.35—down 54 paise from its previous close. On Friday, the domestic currency had already breached the 96-per-dollar mark before ending at an all-time low of 95.81.

Forex traders said global sentiment remains fragile amid tensions involving the United States and Iran, which have pushed crude oil prices higher and added pressure on emerging market currencies such as India’s rupee.

Rising oil prices tend to increase demand for dollars from oil-importing economies like India, while foreign portfolio outflows have also added to the pressure on the local currency, market participants said.

According to Anuj Choudhary of Mirae Asset Sharekhan, the rupee is expected to remain under pressure due to a strong dollar, rising US Treasury yields, geopolitical uncertainties, and foreign institutional investor flows. However, possible intervention by the Reserve Bank of India and recent curbs on gold and silver imports may provide some support at lower levels.

The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was trading at 99.14, marginally lower by 0.14 per cent.

Meanwhile, Brent Crude futures were trading 0.65 per cent higher at USD 109.97 per barrel, reflecting concerns over energy supply disruptions linked to geopolitical developments.

On the domestic equity front, foreign institutional investors remained net buyers for the second consecutive session, purchasing shares worth Rs 1,329.17 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

In a positive macroeconomic development, India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 6.295 billion to USD 696.988 billion for the week ended May 8, according to RBI data.

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The government has also recently moved to curb non-essential imports to protect forex reserves. After raising import duties on precious metals such as gold and silver from 6 per cent to 15 per cent on May 13, authorities have now placed silver imports under a licensed regime to further control outflows of foreign exchange.