Rupee Steady as Importer Dollar Demand Persists

2026-10-19 03:43 By Mariene Camarillo 1 min. read

The Indian rupee hovered near 94.9 per dollar, pausing gains after reaching near six-week highs as importer dollar demand and weakness in domestic equities offset support from easing crude oil prices.

The Nifty 50 fell more than 1%, weighed down by information technology and financial stocks, while Brent crude declined about 2% to $108 a barrel following a US waiver of some Russian oil sanctions.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India has stepped up scrutiny of large overseas investments by domestic companies to contain capital outflows, requiring banks to conduct more detailed assessments of transactions exceeding $1 billion or four times a company's net worth.

The move adds to recent currency hedging curbs and efforts to limit dollar demand amid persistent rupee weakness.

Investors are also awaiting the minutes of the RBI's October policy meeting for clues on further rate hikes.

Markets are closed on Tuesday in observance of Dussehra and will resume on October 21.



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Rupee Steady as Importer Dollar Demand Persists
The Indian rupee hovered near 94.9 per dollar, pausing gains after reaching near six-week highs as importer dollar demand and weakness in domestic equities offset support from easing crude oil prices. The Nifty 50 fell more than 1%, weighed down by information technology and financial stocks, while Brent crude declined about 2% to $108 a barrel following a US waiver of some Russian oil sanctions. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India has stepped up scrutiny of large overseas investments by domestic companies to contain capital outflows, requiring banks to conduct more detailed assessments of transactions exceeding $1 billion or four times a company's net worth. The move adds to recent currency hedging curbs and efforts to limit dollar demand amid persistent rupee weakness. Investors are also awaiting the minutes of the RBI's October policy meeting for clues on further rate hikes. Markets are closed on Tuesday in observance of Dussehra and will resume on October 21.
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