Rupee Plunges Past 95 Mark Amid Oil Surge, RBI Curbs

New Delhi: The Indian rupee breached the 95-per-dollar milestone for the first time on Monday, hitting an intraday low of 95.2 against the US dollar. Despite a brief rally following new Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restrictions, the currency erased all gains to settle at a record closing low of 94.83.

RBI Intervention and Market Reaction The rupee initially opened strong after the RBI slashed the net open position limit for banks to $100 million. This mandate requires banks to ensure their onshore deliverable market positions do not exceed this limit by April 10. Analysts estimate these positions currently range from $25 billion to over $50 billion. However, the currency eventually plummeted 160 paise from its opening level, marking a 4.4% depreciation for the March quarter.

Crude Oil and Geopolitical Pressures Escalating conflicts in West Asia continue to drive global crude prices higher, severely impacting the rupee.

• Brent Crude jumped 3% to an intraday high of $116.70 per barrel.

• WTI (US Benchmark) rose over 3%, crossing the $103 mark.

These elevated energy costs have set Indian stocks on a path toward their worst monthly drop since the start of the 2020 pandemic.

Equity and Investment Downturn The domestic stock market mirrored the currency’s struggle:

• Sensex crashed 1,635.67 points (2.2%) to settle at 71,947.55.

• Nifty dropped 488.20 points (2.14%) to close at 22,331.40.

Exchange data shows that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) accelerated the slide by selling equities worth ₹4,367.30 crore on a net basis last Friday.