Rupee gains slightly against dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee gained 5 paise to reach 95.57 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. This upward movement came on the back of falling crude oil prices and a recovery in other Asian currencies. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the currency opened at 95.58 before touching 95.57, improving from its previous close of 95.62 on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Forex traders note that future market direction will mostly depend on unfolding geopolitical events. Lower crude oil prices provide the main support for the rupee, while a strong American currency following the US Fed's rate hike and foreign portfolio outflows remain the key concerns. Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research at Kotak Securities, stated that analysts see an upper cap of 96.30, with strong Reserve Bank intervention expected near the 96.30 to 96.50 range, and support levels pegged at 95.50 and 95.00. Meanwhile, the dollar index traded at 100.70, up by 0.10 percent. Brent crude futures fell 0.99 percent to $98.27 per barrel. In the domestic stock market, the Sensex rose 283.66 points to 74,812.74, and the Nifty climbed 85.55 points to 23,414.55 in early trade. At the same time, exchange data shows that Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth ₹3,809.99 crore on a net basis on Tuesday.