The rupee pared initial gains and settled for the day 17 paise lower at 92.68 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, weighed down by risks from rising global tensions, especially the US-Iran conflict.
Forex traders said the rupee witnessed high volatility as the deadline for the RBI’s instructions to banks to curb their overnight positions to $100 million closes on Friday amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.58 against the US dollar, then lost ground to touch an intra-day low of 92.76 against the greenback. It also hit the day’s high of 92.41 during the session.
At the end of the trading session on Friday, the rupee was quoted at 92.68 (provisional) against the American currency, registering a decline of 17 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee settled with a marginal gain of 3 paise at 92.51 against the US dollar.
“The US-Iran truce is on shaky ground. There is still a lot of uncertainty around how the situation will unfold. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed,” IFA Global said in a research note.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was higher by 0.03 per cent at 98.84 as safe-haven demand has come down after the ceasefire, but as the ceasefire is fragile, the US dollar is getting bids at lower levels.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.97 per cent at $96.86 per barrel in futures trade, as the ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz opening is keeping the oil trade well bid.
US President Donald Trump is sending a delegation led by Vice-President JD Vance to Islamabad for direct talks with Iran aimed at ending the West Asia conflict.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 918.60 points to settle at 77,550.25, while the Nifty surged 275.50 points to 24,050.60.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth ₹1,711.19 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday said a prolonged conflict in West Asia could undermine India’s macroeconomic performance through multiple channels, including higher energy prices, trade flow disruptions, and weaker remittance inflows.
In its Asian Development Outlook April 2026 report, the ADB projected India’s GDP growth to remain “robust” at 6.9 per cent in the current fiscal year, and rise to 7.3 per cent in the next, driven by strong domestic demand, and supported by easing financing conditions and lower US tariffs on Indian goods.