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The rupee appreciated 17 paise to settle at 85.40 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Monday (May 19, 2025), on a weak U.S. dollar index and a decline in crude oil prices.

Forex traders said global investors were also cautious as global rating agency Moody’s downgraded U.S. investment grade rating, leading to a fall in dollar index.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.43 and moved between the intra-day high of 85.35 and the low of 85.61 against the greenback. The unit ended the session at 85.40 (provisional), registering a gain of 17 paise over its previous closing level.

On Friday (May 16, 2025), the rupee pared its gains and settled 3 paise lower at 85.57 against the dollar.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias amid persistent weakness in U.S. dollar index and a weak tone in global crude oil prices,” Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan said, adding weak domestic equities capped a sharp upside.

“USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 85.10 to 85.65,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.86% at 100.22.

The U.S. dollar weakened as Moody’s downgraded U.S. credit rating to AA1 from AAA. Economic data from the U.S. released on Friday too disappointed the markets, Mr. Choudhary said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.78% to $64.90 per barrel in futures trade.

Traders further noted that with Brent hovering around $65 per barrel, India, one of the world’s largest oil importers, faces the dual challenge of a widening trade deficit and increased dollar demand — factors that could further strain the rupee.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 271.17 points, or 0.33%, to close at 82,059.42, while the Nifty fell 75.35 points or 0.30% to settle at 24,944.45.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth ₹8,831.05 crore on a net basis on Friday (May 16, 2025), according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves jumped by $4.553 billion to $690.617 billion during the week ended May 9 on the back of a steep increase in gold assets, the RBI said on Friday (May 16, 2025).

In the preceding week, the overall reserves had dropped by $2.065 billion to $686.064 billion. The forex reserves had touched an all-time high of $704.885 billion at end-September 2024.