3 min readMay 15, 2026 05:41 PM IST
The Indian rupee closed at a record low of 95.86 against the US dollar Friday after slipping past the 96/dollar mark as higher crude oil prices and inflation concerns weighed on the currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.86 and fell to an all-time low of 96.14, down 50 paise from the previous close. The USD/INR pair later settled at 95.86 (provisional), down 22 paise from Thursday’s close, with traders pointing to likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India.
The rupee has registered over 6 per cent losses this year. In the last six trading sessions, it has weakened nearly 2 per cent as fears around the Iran war pushed crude oil prices higher.
Forex traders said global uncertainties, high valuations and the absence of AI-led investment opportunities affected capital flows. They also flagged weak net FDI inflows and rising crude oil prices as factors that could pressure the balance of payments and fuel inflation concerns.
Dollar strengthens, crude oil rises
The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against six currencies, traded at 99.15, up 0.34 per cent after US retail sales and labour market data lowered expectations of aggressive rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
Brent crude traded at USD 109.04 per barrel, up 3.14 per cent in futures trade.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns. Strong dollar and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
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He said intervention by the RBI and any increase in import duty on gold and silver could support the rupee at lower levels. He projected the USD-INR spot price to trade in the 95.60-96.20 range.
Equity markets decline, trade deficit widens
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex fell 160.73 points to close at 75,237.99, while Nifty dropped 46.10 points to settle at 23,643.50.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India’s exports rose 13.78 per cent year-on-year to USD 43.56 billion in April, while imports increased 10 per cent to USD 71.94 billion. The trade deficit stood at USD 28.38 billion.
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Separately, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump described their talks in Beijing as “historic” after discussions on issues including the Iran war and bilateral trade frictions.
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