The Indian rupee dropped 12 paise to 92.37 against the U.S. dollar, touching a record intraday low.

The Indian rupee weakened by 12 paise to touch a record low of 92.37 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Friday (March 13, 2026), pressured by persistently high global crude oil prices amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Forex traders said the rupee also came under pressure due to a stronger U.S. dollar, heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), and weak sentiment in domestic equity markets.

Surge in oil prices, strong dollar and FII outflows weigh on domestic currency.

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In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.33 and declined further to 92.37 against the dollar, marking a new intra-day record low and falling 12 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday (March 12), the rupee had already slipped to an intra-day low of 92.36 and eventually settled 24 paise lower at 92.25, its weakest closing level against the U.S. currency.

According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, oil prices remained elevated after Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the crisis is resolved. He noted that the dollar index strengthened while European and Asian currencies also declined against the U.S. dollar.

Bhansali added that the rupee continues to remain vulnerable, and without intervention from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) it could have weakened further to around the 93 level.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was 0.04% higher at 99.77.

In the commodities market, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 4.99% to $96.57 per barrel in futures trade.

Market data also showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹7,049.87 crore on a net basis on Thursday, adding to pressure on the domestic currency.

Separately, retail inflation rose to 3.21% in February from 2.74% in January, mainly driven by higher food prices, according to government data released on Thursday.

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