Mumbai (Gurpreet Singh): The Indian rupee plunged to a historic intra-day low of 95.22 against the US dollar on Monday, March 30, 2026, as surging crude oil prices and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia continued to batter emerging market currencies. Despite a brief early-morning recovery, the currency’s dramatic 160-paise swing during the session underscored the intense pressure on the Indian forex market. The decline follows a volatile Friday session where the rupee had already slumped 89 paise to close at a then-record low of 94.85.
The trading day began with a glimmer of hope as the rupee opened at 93.62 and touched an intra-day high of 93.57. This initial gain of over one rupee was largely attributed to a strategic intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which issued a circular on March 27 to cap the net open position (NOP-INR) for banks at $100 million overnight. However, the move failed to provide long-term support as the demand for the greenback intensified, driven by safe-haven buying and a firm US Dollar Index staying above the 100-mark.
The primary catalysts for the slide remain the elevated Brent crude prices, which crossed the $114 per barrel threshold, and the persistent outflow of foreign institutional investment. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the volatility in the Lok Sabha, maintaining that India’s economic fundamentals remain strong and that the rupee is performing relatively better than its emerging market peers. Nevertheless, with the currency depreciating by over 4 per cent since the start of the West Asia conflict in late February, market analysts suggest that the 95/USD level remains a critical psychological and technical resistance zone for the coming weeks.
