Rupee against dollar slips to 94.98 in early trade

The rupee against dollar slipped in early trade on Monday, October 26, 2026, weighed down by high crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia. The rupee traded in a narrow range and fell 5 paise to 94.98 against the US dollar in early trade. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.92, then lost ground to touch 94.98. On Friday, the rupee had fallen for a second straight day, down 12 paise to close at 94.93.

Rupee against dollar and the crude price link

Forex traders said the rupee opened on a weak note on risk aversion in global markets amid rising tensions in West Asia. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded higher by 1.92 per cent at 114.48 dollars a barrel in futures trade. India buys most of its crude oil from abroad, so a higher oil price raises the demand for dollars to pay for imports and puts pressure on the rupee. The link between oil and the rupee against dollar was the main theme of the morning session.

Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said the Indian rupee opened slightly lower on high crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while softness in the US dollar and US treasury yields cushioned the downside. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six currencies, traded at 101.49, lower by 0.15 per cent. That softness in the dollar gave the rupee some support, even as oil and risk aversion pulled the other way.

Rupee against dollar faces a weak bias

Choudhary said he expected the rupee against dollar to trade with a slight negative bias on risk aversion in global markets amid rising tensions in West Asia. High crude prices and selling pressure from foreign investors may also press on the rupee, he said. A weak dollar index and any fresh action by the Reserve Bank of India may support the rupee at lower levels, he added. The balance of those forces, rather than any single factor, is likely to set the tone for the session.

On the domestic equity market front, the early session was also weak, with the benchmarks opening lower before recovering later in the morning. Foreign investors had bought equities worth 887.65 crore rupees on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data. That inflow figure sat against the wider picture of risk aversion, since traders were still weighing oil, West Asia tensions and the US Federal Reserve meeting later in the week.

Rupee against dollar and the week ahead

Market watchers will track three items for the rupee against dollar in the days ahead: crude prices, foreign fund flows and any signal from the Reserve Bank of India. If Brent crude stays near current levels, importers will keep buying dollars and the pressure on the rupee will stay. If foreign inflows return in size, the currency will find support. The rupee traded in a narrow range in the morning, which suggests traders were waiting for a clearer cue before taking larger positions.

The figures in this report are early trade levels reported on Monday morning, not closing levels. The rupee opened at 94.92 and touched 94.98 in the early session, after closing at 94.93 on Friday. Those rupee against dollar levels may have moved as the day went on, and the closing level will give a fuller picture of how the currency handled the mix of high Brent crude prices and West Asia tensions.