The rupee climbed to its strongest level in two months, opening at 94.30 per dollar after settling at 94.97 the previous session — a move traders linked to a wave of foreign-currency inflows the Reserve Bank of India had spent weeks encouraging.
Indian banks mobilised about $127.2 billion through Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits before the special window closed on August 31, with total foreign-currency fundraising — including overseas borrowings by companies — reaching roughly $136.4 billion.
The RBI has also been intervening directly in currency markets, drawing on foreign-exchange reserves that stand at a record $729.3 billion. The central bank's forward book, used to manage future dollar commitments, is at an all-time high of about $137 billion.
The rupee's gain comes even as a renewed conflict between the United States and Iran has pushed global crude oil prices higher and unsettled bond markets elsewhere — pressure that would typically weigh on the currency of an oil-importing economy like India.