Rupee’s slide on high oil tests key support, RBI action in focus

The Rupee stays on the back foot as higher crude weighs on sentiment. Participants are watching a key technical support level and any signal from the RBI.

In the NDF market, the Indian rupee is trading at 95.15-95.20 range, after closing 95.1850 on Monday.

Brent crude hovered near $115 a barrel, its highest in six months. Analysts see limited room for a near-term pullback as renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, a top producer, heighten supply-disruption risks.

The rupee’s rebound toward 94.30 last week, powered mainly by RBI intervention and one-off inflows, is now being tested by a lack of supportive macro fundamentals.

Portfolio inflows remain subdued, while fragile sentiment toward the rupee is prompting companies to hedge more aggressively, adding to pressure on the currency.

Asian currencies traded mixed on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday, giving the rupee little direction.

Indian shares are set to open lower on Tuesday, giving up part of the previous session’s gains, as Brent crude held near $115 a barrel and investors stayed cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision later this week.

GIFT Nifty futures were at 22,669.5, pointing to a negative start for the benchmark Nifty 50, which closed at 22,753.2 on Monday.

Foreign investors sold Indian shares worth $153.60 million on Monday, according to provisional data. They have net sold $4.75 billion of stocks so far in October and a record $32.56 billion in 2026.