The rupee was quoted at 89.9475 per U.S. dollar, weaker than Friday’s close of 89.85 at level

The Indian rupee declined on Monday as scattered corporate dollar demand filtered through private banks, likely linked to client flows, while demand to buy dollars at the central bank’s reference rate added to the pressure, according to traders.

The Indian currency was quoted at 89.9475 per U.S. dollar at 11:04 am IST, weaker than Friday’s close of 89.85 at level. The currency had opened at 89.88.

After opening higher, it has continued to drift up. There isn’t anything major driving it — just routine flows (coming through private banks), along with the normal interest around the Reserve Bank of India’s reference rate, according to a currency trader.

The trader pointed out that bankers were willing to pay a premium of around 1.5 paisa to buy dollars at the RBI fixing rate — a sign of underlying dollar demand.

On whether the rupee is likely to slip past the 90 level, another trader said the probability appeared low, at least for Monday’s session.

Technically, the dollar/rupee pair is still trading in a rising channel, said FX advisory firm Mecklai Financial, which suggests that the broader bullish structure remains intact despite the pullback.

A move above 90.10 could see a retest of 90.50–90.8, the firm said.

Asian cues were largely unsupportive for the rupee, with regional currencies mostly weaker and the dollar index rising to 98.10.

Meanwhile, dollar/rupee forward premiums were relatively quiet after a highly volatile week, with the one-year implied inching up 2–3 basis points to around 2.80 per cent.