Rupee opens firm at 88.68/$; analysts see momentum in favour of dollar

Indian Rupee today: The domestic currency opened flat at 88.68 against the greenback and fell to 88.72, according to Bloomberg

The Indian rupee traded firm on Friday morning after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MOC) left policy rates unchanged.

 

The domestic currency opened flat at 88.68 against the greenback and fell to 88.72, according to Bloomberg. The currency fell 3.59 per cent so far this year, while it hit an all-time low of 88.80 on Tuesday. 

 

The rupee was quoting around 88.75 on Thursday as markets awaited the Reserve Bank of India’s response to the currency’s weakness, according to Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

   

Over the past year, the rupee has weakened by more than 5 per cent, pressured by US policy moves, trade tensions and global uncertainties, Bhansali said. Capital outflows, high gold imports and risk aversion have also weighed on sentiment, he added. 

 

Exporters are advised to sell cash exports between 88.75-88.80, while importers may look to buy below 88.70 for moderate hedges. Options strategies may also be considered to manage volatility. "On a technical basis, momentum remains in favour of the dollar, with the rupee down 0.65 per cent over the past month."

 

On Wednesday, while keeping the repo rates unchanged, the MPC maintained the policy stance at ‘neutral’. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra noted that the effects of the front-loaded monetary policy measures and recent fiscal actions were still unfolding.  The committee also revised its growth forecast for FY26 upward to 6.8 per cent while lowering the inflation forecast to 2.6 per cent.

 

In the post-policy press conference, the Governor said that the RBI does not target any specific rupee level and the efforts have been focused on managing undue volatility.

 

Meanwhile, the dollar index snapped a four-day losing streak amid reports that US President Donald Trump plans to fire thousands of government workers during the shutdown. The measure of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies was up 0.07 per cent at 97.91.

 

In commodities, crude oil prices were trading near a four-month low as sentiments are dominated by oversupply concerns. Brent crude price was up 0.55 per cent at 64.46 per barrel, while WTI crude prices were higher by 0.56 per cent at 60.81 per barrel, as of 9:10 AM IST.