The Indian rupee snapped an eight-session-long winning streak on Thursday ​as Brent oil prices climbed to their highest since May on ‌deepening worries about conflict in the Middle East, ​which hammered global equities as well.

The South Asian ⁠currency endured a volatile trading session, swinging from its strongest level in over six weeks to close down 0.4% at 94.8175 per ‌dollar.

Earlier in the day, chunky foreign inflows for Jio Platforms’ IPO added to tailwinds from the ‌Reserve Bank of India’s defensive measures that had boosted ‌the ⁠currency but its gains faded as oil prices ⁠climbed in the latter half.

Traders pointed to broad-based dollar demand locally alongside broader signs of a risk-off move in global markets.

MSCI’s All-World index ​was set for its largest ‌daily fall in two weeks, down 0.4%, as tech shares from Seoul and Tokyo to Amsterdam and Paris came under pressure. Equity futures pointed to a weak ‌start for shares on Wall Street as well.

OIL PRICES ​REMAIN A KEY RISK

Oil prices have remained elevated despite oil flows from the Gulf holding up, ⁠reflecting market anxieties over the conflict.

“The sizeable risk premium currently embedded in prices is unlikely to fade until clear ‌signs of de-escalation emerge and reassure investors that regional supply will remain uninterrupted,” ING said in a note. Brent oil prices were last up 3.3% at $112.40 per barrel.

India imports nearly 90% of its crude requirements, making it one of the world’s most vulnerable economies to the Middle East ‌oil shock. This remains a key risk for the rupee, with market ​participants and observers split over how sternly the RBI should defend the currency in the face ⁠of fundamental pressures.

While senior IMF official Krishna Srinivasan said ⁠on Wednesday that India should allow the dollar-rupee exchange rate to move as the first line of defence, ‌former RBI deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra told Reuters that exchange rates tend to overshoot and can cause ​financial stability risks.

Published on October 22, 2026