Mon Feb 24 04:39:17 UTC 2025: ## Rupee Gains Paisa Despite Market Downturn and Forex Reserve Drop

**New Delhi, February 24, 2025** – The Indian rupee edged up by one paisa against the US dollar in early Monday trading, reaching 86.67, despite a confluence of negative factors impacting the market. While the weakening dollar internationally contributed to the initial strengthening, this gain was largely offset by a significant fall in domestic equity markets, a decrease in India’s foreign exchange reserves, and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows.

The rupee opened at 86.58, up 10 paisa, but quickly relinquished these gains. This follows Friday’s performance, where the rupee closed 4 paisa lower at 86.68. Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, predicts the rupee will trade within a range of 86.35 to 86.75. Bhansali attributed the dollar’s recent weakness, a drop of over 3% from its January peak, to tariff issues and growing unease among businesses and consumers regarding recent Trump administration policies. This sentiment was echoed by business activity surveys, which showed a near standstill in February.

Adding to the pressure on the rupee, the 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted by 567.62 points to 74,743.44 in early trading, with the Nifty also falling 188.4 points to 22,607.50. FIIs further dampened sentiment, offloading ₹3,449.15 crore worth of equities on Friday. India’s forex reserves also declined by $2.54 billion to $635.721 billion in the week ending February 14, ending a three-week period of growth. Brent crude remained relatively stable, trading at USD 74.43 per barrel.

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