Rupee gains 19 paise to 95.16; dollar index falls from 15-month peak

The rupee opened 19 paise higher at 95.16 per dollar in early trade on Friday. The dollar index slipped from a 15-month high, trading at 100.81 in the Asian session.

Brent crude futures fell 0.63% to $72.25 a barrel. Even with a weaker greenback and lower oil, the rupee's upside was capped by sustained dollar demand from importers and corporate hedgers, forex traders said.

Pabari added that the Reserve Bank of India is focused on rebuilding its foreign-exchange reserves, which have dropped from a February peak of $728.49 billion to roughly $672.6 billion. That leaves the central bank with less room to let the rupee appreciate freely, "even when global conditions are supportive."

The rupee had settled at 95.35 on Thursday, down 19 paise from the prior session. Friday's modest gain snapped two days of losses.

Foreign portfolio investors sold a net Rs 311.82 crore in Indian equities on Thursday, exchange data showed. June withdrawals have reached Rs 49,340 crore ($5.16 billion), driven by global risk aversion early in the month and stretched domestic valuations.

On a year-to-date basis, FPIs have pulled a cumulative Rs 2.7 lakh crore from Indian equities – far higher than the Rs 1.66 lakh crore withdrawn during all of 2025, according to Central Depository Services data.

Domestic equities opened higher, with the Sensex rising 545.89 points to 78,048.01 and the Nifty gaining 173.85 points to 24,346.90.