Rupee’s biggest single-day gains in years! Currency rebounds 1.6% to 93.14 vs US dollar after RBI intervention

The rupee staged a sharp rebound on Thursday, rising 156 paise or 1.6 per cent to settle at 93.14 (provisional) against the US dollar, logging one of its steepest single-day gains in many years after regulatory measures by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to PTI.The surge followed a series of steps by the central bank to restrict banks from onshore forward markets, prompting dollar unwinding by lenders.At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 94.62 and rallied sharply by 188 paise during the session to hit an intra-day high of 92.82. It finally settled at 93.14, up 156 paise from the previous close.The rupee had breached the 95 mark earlier this week, closing at 94.70 on Monday after hitting a record low of 94.84 on Friday, which triggered RBI intervention, PTI reported.Forex markets remained shut on Tuesday due to Shri Mahavir Jayanti and on Wednesday on account of banks’ annual account closure.Through its March 27 circular, the RBI capped banks’ net open positions in the rupee at USD 100 million, with compliance mandated by April 10.On Wednesday, it announced additional measures, stating that authorised dealers will not be allowed to offer non-deliverable derivative contracts involving the rupee to resident or non-resident users.The central bank also barred users from rebooking any foreign exchange derivative contract, whether deliverable or non-deliverable, once cancelled after the issuance of these instructions.Despite Thursday’s rally, the rupee remains under pressure from foreign capital outflows, a strengthening dollar, and elevated crude oil prices amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, analysts said.Since the onset of the West Asia conflict on February 28, 2026, the rupee has depreciated by over 4 per cent. For the full FY26, the currency declined nearly 10 per cent against the US dollar.Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said the rally was driven by regulatory tightening.“This led to the selling of dollars by the banks to comply with regulatory requirements,” he said.He added that the rupee may continue to trade with a positive bias as banks unwind positions ahead of the April 10 deadline.“However, global risk-off sentiments and rising crude oil prices may continue to pressure the rupee at higher levels,” he said, adding, “USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 92.20 to Rs 93.20.”Meanwhile, the dollar index rose 0.60 per cent to 100.05, while Brent crude traded 6.84 per cent higher at USD 108.08 per barrel.In domestic equities, the Sensex ended 185.23 points higher at 73,319.55, while the Nifty gained 33.70 points to close at 22,713.10.Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 8,331.15 crore on Wednesday, exchange data showed.Separately, government data indicated that GST collections grew about 9 per cent in March, crossing Rs 2 lakh crore, marking the third-highest monthly mop-up in FY26.