Rupee plunges 31 paise to 93.75 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee stayed weak for the third straight session, falling 31 paise to 93.75 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Wednesday (April 22, 2026), weighed down by higher crude oil prices amid uncertainties over a West Asia peace agreement.

Selling pressure in domestic equity markets and withdrawal of foreign capital further pressured the Indian currency, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 93.69 and fell to 93.76 before trading at 93.75 against the greenback in early deals, registering a loss of 31 paise from the previous closing level.

The rupee plunged 28 paise to settle at 93.44 against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday (April 21, 2026), a day after losing 25 paise on Monday. The currency had gained 47 paise in the preceding two sessions.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, remained almost unchanged, down 0.01 per cent to 98.21.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.28% down at $98.20 per barrel in futures trade. Analysts said the crude oil prices moved above the $98-a-barrel level after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran in the absence of a peace agreement before Wednesday (April 22, 2026).

Mr. Trump has said that if the ceasefire ends without an agreement, he is prepared to resume attacking Iran. “I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” he told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’.

In the domestic equity markets the 30-share Sensex was trading 362.78 points or 0.46% down at 78,910.55 in early trade, while the Nifty declined 90.70 points or 0.37% to 24,485.90.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth about ₹1,918.99 crore on Tuesday (April 21, 2026), according to the exchange data.