The Indian rupee punched through the 94-per-dollar threshold on Friday, November 6, jumping 54 paise to touch an intraday high of 93.87—its strongest trading mark in eight months.
The rebound caught interbank desks on the back foot. After settling at 94.41 on Thursday, the domestic currency slipped at Friday’s opening bell to 94.50 before aggressive dollar sales reversed the slide. Momentum carried the unit past resistance levels. By 2:15 pm, the rupee traded at 93.9325 against the dollar, holding a 48-paise advance over the previous close as offshore capital flooded domestic bourses.
Behind the rally stands an aggressive turnaround in institutional cash flow. Foreign portfolio investors absorbed nearly $3 billion worth of Indian shares over the week, anchored by a massive $1.6 billion net purchase on Thursday. That single-day procurement marked the heaviest foreign equity buying in nearly six years, pumping dollar liquidity straight into local bank vaults.
A simultaneous collapse in energy import costs magnified the gains. Brent crude prices sank nearly 20% across the week. Because India relies heavily on foreign crude shipments to meet domestic consumption, cheaper barrels curb dollar outflows from state-run refiners and narrow the trade deficit in one stroke.
Global portfolio reshuffling provided the final push. Following the US midterm election results, an aggressive sell-off swept through Wall Street technology counters, especially artificial intelligence plays. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5% on Thursday, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plummeted more than 12%. That sudden rout forced global fund managers to trim bloated exposure to expensive US tech names and reallocate capital into emerging markets, putting Indian equities squarely back on trading terminals.
Foreign exchange desks now watch whether sustained equity buying can consolidate the rupee's position below 94 against the dollar heading into next week's session.