Rupee recovers 12 paise from all-time low to close at ₹88.68 against US dollar post RBI policy

The rupee recovered 12 paise from its all-time closing low to settle at ₹88.68 (provisional) against US dollar on Wednesday, as the Central Bank in its monetary policy decision announced a host of measures to support exporters and bring stability to the domestic unit.

Forex traders said the rupee advanced against the US dollar as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left the repo rate unchanged at 5.5 per cent and maintained a neutral stance in its fourth Monetary Policy of FY26.

Moreover, strength in domestic markets and a decline in crude oil prices and additional measures announced by the RBI governor to aid exporters further strengthened the domestic currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at ₹88.79 against the US dollar and touched an intraday high of ₹88.65 and finally settled for the day at 88.68 (provisional), higher by 12 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee fell 5 paise to an all-time low of ₹88.80 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 97.75, lower by 0.02 per cent, amid US government shutdown.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.74% lower at USD 65.54 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 715.69 points to settle at 80,983.31, while Nifty surged 225.20 points to 24,836.30.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,327.09 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The RBI expectedly left its key interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as it waited for greater clarity on the impact of US tariffs as well as playout of earlier rate cuts and recent tax reductions.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, however, signalled scope for easing in the coming months to support the economy from any possible hit from US tariffs.