The rupee surged by 21 paise to 90.73 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Monday (February 23, 2026), aided by a sharp fall in global crude oil prices and a weaker greenback amid renewed uncertainties over U.S. President Donald Trump hiking tariffs to 15%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 1.09% at $70.98 per barrel.

A strong opening in domestic equity markets, along with a jump in forex reserves, provided further support to the local unit, according to forex traders. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.76 against the U.S. dollar and rose further to 90.73, up 21 paise against its previous close.

The rupee plunged 26 paise to settle at 90.94 against the U.S. dollar on Friday.

“The rupee opened stronger after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs caused the dollar index to fall. Most Asian currencies have gained from their Friday close,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

He, however, said dollar buying sentiment continues in the market and could weigh on the rupee. “The rupee could be sold off as the day passes with dollar-buying sentiment continuing in the market,” he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.33% at 97.47.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex surged 621.78 points to 83,436.49 in early trade while Nifty was up 180.05 points to 25,751.30.

On Friday, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹934.61 crore, according to exchange data.

India’s forex reserves jumped $8.663 billion to hit a new all-time high of $725.727 billion in the week ended February 13, the RBI said on Friday (February 20, 2026).