On Monday, the Indian rupee rose for the second day in a row, buoyed by a weak dollar index and falling crude oil prices.
The domestic currency opened 8 paise higher against the US dollar at 85.44, up from 85.52 on Friday, according to data from Bloomberg. So far this calendar year (CY26), the rupee has depreciated by approximately 0.22 percent.
The Indian rupee, which closed higher on Friday, is expected to open slightly stronger because Moody's downgrade of US debt has had little impact, according to Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP. "We expect the rupee to trade between 85/86 and 85.25/75 for the day."
Asian stocks fell along with the dollar and US futures contracts after Moody's Ratings downgraded the US government's credit rating. The dollar index, which rates the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.29 percent to 100.80.
Moody's downgraded the US rating from AAA to AA1 due to concerns about the mounting debt, which could worsen under President Donald Trump's tax cuts.
"Moody's is a lagging indicator — that's what everyone thinks of credit agencies," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview, ignoring any debt worries.
The rupee has depreciated considerably against the euro and pound, but it has remained stable against the US dollar so far in 2025. As those currencies sharply appreciated versus the dollar during that time, it fell 6.83 percent and 5.44 percent against the euro and pound, respectively.
As negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine continue, crude oil prices continue to decline. WTI crude prices had dropped 0.16 percent to 62.39 per barrel as of 9:15 a.m., while Brent crude prices had dropped 0.26 percent to $65.24 per barrel.
Crude oil prices stayed unchanged while the dollar index showed little directional bias, hovering around 100.70. Jateen Trivedi is a VP research analyst for commodities and currencies at LKP Securities. "With no major triggers, the rupee is expected to trade in a broader range of 85.00 to 85.75 in the near term."
