The rupee in Q1 2026: ₹89.77 to ₹94.36 a dollar

Three months, ₹4.59 more per dollar

On 31 December 2025 a US dollar cost ₹89.77. On 31 March 2026 it cost ₹94.36. The dollar rose 5.11% against the rupee over the quarter; put the other way, the rupee lost 4.86% of its dollar value.

The figures are daily USD/INR closing rates, the series behind our currency converter, which goes back to September 2016. We use weekday closes throughout.

Month by month

The quarter had two legs. January took the dollar from under ₹90 to above ₹92 for the first time: it first closed above ₹91 on 21 January and above ₹92 on 29 January, at ₹92.04. February gave a little back. March did the rest, with the dollar first closing above ₹93 on 19 March and above ₹94 on 25 March.

The weakest close

The rupee's weakest close of the quarter was ₹94.78 per dollar on Monday 30 March, the second-to-last trading day of the quarter. That is the weakest in the whole series, which starts in September 2016.

It was one of 15 record-weak closes in the quarter: five in January, none in February and ten in March. The rupee's strongest close of the quarter came early, at ₹89.86 on 8 January.

The rupee did not stay there. The rate eased to ₹94.36 on 31 March and to ₹92.97 by 3 April, 1.9% off the weakest point.

For scale: the dollar first closed above ₹85 on 19 December 2024 and above ₹90 on 4 December 2025. It took nearly a year to travel those five rupees. It took less than four months to travel the next 4.78.

FII selling alongside

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold a net ₹1,70,616 crore of Indian shares in the quarter, on NSE's provisional cash-market figures. The month-by-month line in the table is suggestive: the rupee weakened in the two heavy selling months and firmed slightly in February, when FII selling all but paused.

It is worth being careful with that pattern.

• Last year's first quarter looks different. From 31 December 2024 to 31 March 2025 the dollar went from ₹85.79 to ₹85.54, a 0.29% fall. FIIs sold a net ₹1,44,349 crore of Indian shares over the same three months. Heavy selling, and a steady rupee.
• Equity flows are one channel among many. The currency also moves on trade, debt flows and the dollar's own strength against other currencies, none of which this data covers.
• The direction can run either way. A falling rupee cuts a foreign investor's returns in dollars, which can itself prompt selling. Two series moving together cannot say which one is leading.

Our March flows post has the full breakdown of the selling, including the record month of DII buying that offset it.

What this does not tell you

Not RBI reference rates. These are market closing rates, which can differ slightly from the rates RBI publishes.

Who gains and who loses. A weaker rupee raises the rupee value of foreign assets. International funds gain on the currency when it falls, and lose when it rises, as our guide on currency risk explains.

A level is not a forecast. A record-weak close says where the rate has been, not where it is going.

Where to go from here

Convert any amount at the latest rate with our currency calculator. The FII and DII data page carries every session of institutional flows. For the bigger picture, our guide to how global macro reaches your fund covers rates, the dollar and oil.