The rupee gained 73 paise to close at 94.85 against the US dollar

In the domestic stock market, the Sensex fell 1,092.06 points to settle at 74,775.74, while the Nifty fell 359.40 points to 23,547.75. File | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The rupee gained 73 paise to close at 94.85 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday (May 29, 2026) as renewed optimism over the US-Iran peace deal boosted market sentiment.

Forex traders said the USD/INR pair strengthened overnight on lower oil prices and a drop in the US dollar after the US and Iran agreed to extend the ceasefire for another 60 days.

On Thursday (May 29, 2026), US and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.77 against the US dollar before touching an intraday high of 94.85 and a low of 95.78 during the day.

At the end of Friday’s (May 29, 2026) trading session, the rupee was trading at 94.85, up 73 paise from the previous close.

The rupee settled 12 paise higher at 95.58 against the US dollar on Wednesday.

Domestic stock and foreign exchange markets were closed on Thursday (May 29, 2026) due to Eid-ul-Azha.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on renewed optimism over the US-Iran peace deal, pending approval by Donald Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader.

“Softening oil prices and easing dollar may also support the rupee. However, any fresh escalation between the US and Iran may push the rupee to higher levels. The USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in the range of 94.70 to 95.60,” said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.

Dilip Parmar, research analyst at HDFC Securities, said the rupee outperformed its Asian peers, supported by falling oil prices and suspected interventions by the RBI.

“The currency also posted its biggest one-day gain since April 2, driven by aggressive central bank action and market optimism around a tentative extension to the US-Iran ceasefire. Technically, spot USD-INR is expected to decline towards the 94.50-94.30 levels, with immediate resistance holding at 95.70,” Mr Parmar said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, traded at 99.13, up 0.11 percent.

Brent crude futures, the global crude benchmark, traded up 1.81% at $92.01 a barrel.

Forex traders said attention has now shifted to the upcoming RBI Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for June 3-5.

According to experts, the RBI could decide to hike rates or take a status quo decision. But the bigger question is whether the RBI may decide to prioritize currency stability over inflation management.

In the domestic stock market, the Sensex fell 1,092.06 points to settle at 74,775.74, while the Nifty fell 359.40 points to 23,547.75.

Foreign institutional investors unloaded shares worth a net ₹21,105.86 crore on Friday, according to stock exchange data.

India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $7.511 billion to $681.384 billion during the week ended May 22, according to the latest RBI data released on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the kitten fell by 8.094 billion to 688.894 billion dollars.

Published – 29 May 2026 16:53 IST