Large firms’ dollar appetite dampens rupee rise post trade deal

A man holds Indian currency notes inside a shop in New Delhi, India, April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi · Reuters

By Jaspreet Kalra

Tue, 10 February 2026 at 2:46 pm GMT+9 2 min read

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INR=X

-0.13%

INRUSD=X

+0.13%

DX-Y.NYB

+0.08%

By Jaspreet Kalra

MUMBAI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee’s bounce on the back of a trade breakthrough between New Delhi and Washington ​has run into speed bumps on account of heavy dollar demand from ‌large Indian firms, capping the currency’s rise even as the greenback retreats broadly.

The rupee was up ‌0.1% at 90.6725 per dollar on Tuesday, at 11 a.m. IST. It ran up to a peak of 90.0450 last week and has since steadily drifted lower.

Gains in regional currencies helped lend positive cues to the rupee, but, as ⁠seen in recent sessions, corporate ‌dollar appetite stood in the way of meaningful gains.

Large Indian companies, including steel and oil firms, have been among active ‍dollar buyers over recent sessions, which has exerted some pressure on the rupee, traders said.

Meanwhile, the initial boost from the U.S. trade deal announcement has softened as traders ​parse the fine print and gauge how it may play out.

The market’s ‌assessment of the deal seems to be of “short-term stability, but questionable long-term gains. That scepticism limited any meaningful support for the rupee,” said Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex.

“USD/INR may gradually drift higher toward 91.00–91.20 in the coming days.”

Indian farm unions and opposition parties have called for ⁠nationwide protests against the India-U.S. trade framework, ​saying it risks hurting the farm sector by ​allowing more U.S. imports. The government maintains that key staples remain protected.

In global markets, the dollar index was down 0.1% at ‍98.8, extending its ⁠slide from the previous session on the back of strength in the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan.

The yuan surged to its strongest level in ⁠nearly three years against the dollar on Tuesday, underpinned by heavy company demand for the ‌local currency ahead of China’s biggest festival.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing ‌by Janane Venkatraman and Harikrishnan Nair)

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