Rupee jumps 36 paise to close at 86 against U.S. dollar

FIIs purchased equities worth ₹3,239.14 crore on a net basis on Thursday (March 20, 2025), according to exchange data. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The rupee on Friday (March 21, 2025) climbed to a 10-week high of ₹86 against the U.S. dollar due to a surge in foreign inflows into domestic equities and debt markets, analysts said. The domestic currency was trading at ₹85.89 a dollar on January 9, 2025.

The rupee surged nearly 0.1% on Friday (March 21, 2025), making it the eighth consecutive day of appreciation against the dollar. It closed at ₹85.98 against the U.S. dollar.

On a weekly basis, the rupee surged 1.1% with the appreciation on Friday (March 21, 2025).

“The rupee’s gain was supported by stronger-than-expected trade data and a rise in foreign exchange reserves following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) USD/INR swap intervention,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

“The central bank’s efforts have paid off, with the rupee emerging as the top performer among Asian currencies so far this month,” he said, adding that in the short term, the rupee is expected to receive support at 85.70 and resistance at 86.45.

Jateen Trivedi, Vice President, Research Analyst — Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities said, “Rupee strengthened as FII inflows surged with strong buying figures in recent days.” “The Fed’s decision to hold rates steady and its forecast for lower interest rates ahead pulled the dollar down, providing significant support to the rupee but major capital market strengthening gives the rupee the strong push higher,” he added. Equity markets also reported gains on Friday (March 21, 2025), with frontline indices rising by 0.7%.

The NSE Nifty extended its bullish run for a fifth consecutive session, closing higher by 159 points, or 0.69%, at 23,350. NSE cash market volumes surged dramatically by 53% from the previous day, reaching their highest level since November 25, 2024.