Indian rupee strengthened against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India came out with further measures aimed at authorised dealers in response to the sharp depreciation of the rupee. The measures are effective immediately. Authorised dealers (ADs) -- banks authorised by RBI to deal in foreign exchange -- will not be able to offer non-deliverable derivative contracts involving the Indian rupee to resident or non-resident users. The ADs should not permit a user to rebook any foreign exchange derivative contract, whether deliverable or non-deliverable, which is cancelled after the date of issuance of these instructions. Meanwhile, market participants ignored report that India’s manufacturing sector growth eased in the month of March 2026, amid market uncertainty and the war in the Middle East which led to softer increases in new orders and output. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.9 in March from 56.9 in February, marking its lowest level since June 2022. On the global front, the British pound has weakened to trade near $1.32 on Thursday as hopes for a potential end to the West Asia conflict faded following US President Donald Trump’s address where he discussed ongoing military actions in Iran.

Finally, the rupee ended at 93.11 (Provisional), strengthened by 1.59 rupee from its previous close of 94.70 on Monday. The currency touched a high and low of 94.63 and 92.82 respectively.