According to PTI, the rupee surged sharply on Thursday and closed 156 paise or 1.6 per cent higher at 93.14 (provisional) against the US dollar, one of the sharpest one-day gains in several years following regulatory measures by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).The surge came after a series of moves by the central bank to restrict banks from onshore forward markets, leading to dollar withdrawals by lenders.At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the domestic unit opened at 94.62 and rose as much as 188 paise during the session to hit an intra-day high of 92.82. It finally closed at 93.14, up 156 paise from its previous close.According to PTI report, the rupee had crossed the 95 level earlier this week, closing at 94.70 on Monday after hitting a record low of 94.84 on Friday, prompting the RBI to intervene.Foreign exchange markets remained closed on Tuesday due to Shri Mahavir Jayanti and on Wednesday due to annual account closure of banks.Through its March 27 circular, the RBI capped banks’ net open position in rupee at USD 100 million, compliance with which was mandatory by April 10.On Wednesday, it announced additional measures, saying authorized dealers will not be allowed to offer non-deliverable derivatives contracts linked to the rupee to resident or non-resident users.The central bank barred users from re-booking any forex derivative contracts, whether deliverable or non-deliverable, after the issuance of these instructions.Despite Thursday’s gains, the rupee remains under pressure from foreign capital outflows, a stronger dollar and higher crude prices amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, analysts said.The rupee has fallen by more than 4 percent since the start of the Middle East conflict on February 28, 2026. For the entire FY26, the currency depreciated by about 10 per cent against the US dollar.Anuj Chaudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset Sharekhan said that this rally has come due to regulatory strictness.“This led to the selling of dollars by banks to comply with regulatory requirements,” he said.He said the rupee may continue to trade with a positive bias as banks are unwinding positions ahead of the April 10 deadline.“However, the rupee may remain under pressure at higher levels due to global risk-off sentiments and rising crude oil prices,” he said. “USD-INR spot price is expected to trade between Rs 92.20-Rs 93.20,” he said.Meanwhile, the dollar index rose 0.60 per cent to 100.05, while Brent crude traded 6.84 per cent higher at US$108.08 per barrel.In domestic equities, Sensex closed 185.23 points higher at 73,319.55, while Nifty closed 33.70 points higher at 22,713.10.Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 8,331.15 crore on Wednesday, exchange data showed.Separately, government data indicated that GST collections rose by nearly 9 per cent in March, crossing Rs 2 lakh crore, the third highest monthly collection in FY26.
