The rupee’s exchange rate fell past 93-per-dollar for the first time on Friday on its way to hitting a new record low of 93.77 as the conflict in West Asia escalated and continued to add to concerns about how the elevated fuel prices will impact India’s trade deficit and further hurt the exchange rate. This is more than 100 paise lower than Tuesday’s close of 92.64, the largest intraday fall in over four years. The foreign exchange market was closed on Thursday for Gudi Padwa. However, in offshore markets, the rupee on Thursday had already breached 93-per-dollar following Israel’s attack on South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas field located between Iran and Qatar. Story continues below this adIn a sign of the RBI’s attempts to reduce exchange rate volatility, the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves were down $11.7 billion on March 6 – the biggest weekly fall since November 2024.

Source: Indian Express March 21, 2026 06:01 UTC