1. Rupee strengthens 24 paise to 89.96 against the US dollar in early trade
2. Corporate dollar inflows and softer crude prices aid recovery
3. RBI intervention likely after recent record lows beyond 91/$
4. Brent crude eases to around $59.6 per barrel, supporting sentiment
5. Sensex and Nifty trade higher; FIIs buy equities worth Rs 595

The rupee appreciated 24 paise to 89.96 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Friday (December 19, 2025), supported by corporate dollar inflows and easing crude oil prices. Based on the intervention by the Reserve Bank of India, Forex traders said that the gain in the USD/INR pair follows the rupee’s string of record lows in recent weeks.

Moreover, crude oil prices hovering around $59 per barrel level supported market sentiment. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.19 against the U.S. dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.96 against the US dollar, registering a gain of 24 paise over its previous close.

In initial trade it also touched 90.22 against the American currency. On Thursday (December 18, 2025), the rupee appreciated 18 paise against the US dollar to close at 90.20 against the greenback. The rupee sank to a fresh record low, breaching the 91-a-dollar mark for the first time on Tuesday (December 16, 2025). "Since the speculators are out of the market the buying of U.S. dollar syndrome has come down a bit though intra-day we could see spikes," said Anil Kumar Bhansali Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

The U.S. CPI came lower than expected but was also due to non-collection of sufficient data and therefore, the next month’s CPI becomes more important, Bhansali said, adding that "Rupee remains in a range of 90-90.50". Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04% higher at 98.46.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.27% at $59.66 per barrel in futures trade. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 375.98 points to 84,857.79, while the Nifty was up 110.60 points to 25,934.15. Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 595.78 crore on Thursday (December 18, 2025), according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal on Thursday said he is not concerned about the rupee at all, arguing that even China and Japan witnessed exchange rate weaknesses during their high growth phases.