The rupee slipped 20 paise to 95.16 against the greenback in early trade on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) as the U.S. launched fresh strikes on Iran after Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up crude oil prices and strengthening the dollar.

A weaker opening in the domestic equity markets further pressured the local unit, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.15 against the U.S. dollar before slipping further to 95.16, down 20 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday (July 7, 2026), the rupee appreciated 47 paise to close at 94.96 against the U.S. dollar.

“The rupee opened at 95.15 levels on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) as the dollar index moved higher and Brent crude touched $76 levels with most Asian currencies also falling against the dollar,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 101.08, up 0.06%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 2.55% at $76.05 per barrel in futures trade.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has forecast Brent crude oil price to average $74 in the third quarter of 2026, which is $27 lower than last month’s forecast, Mr. Bhansali added.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tanked 537.83 points to 77,642.89 in early trade, while Nifty was down 163.55 points to 24,235.15.

Foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth ₹393.19 crore on a net basis on Tuesday (July 7, 2026), according to exchange data.