Dollar to Rupee Today: Rupee Slips to 96.31, Two-Month Low; What It Means for Travel, Overseas Fees and NRIs
The rupee fell 37 paise to close at a provisional 96.31 against the US dollar on Thursday, 1 October 2026, its weakest level in more than two months, PTI reported. It had settled at 95.94 on Wednesday. With banks and currency markets shut on 2 October for Gandhi Jayanti, Thursday’s close is the latest dollar to rupee today rate, and the next trading session is on Monday, 5 October.
The rupee opened at 95.95 on Thursday and touched an intraday low of 96.34 before closing at 96.31, according to PTI’s report in The Hindu. BusinessLine put the close at 96.3150, down 0.5%, and called it the currency’s sharpest one-day fall in more than two months.
Dollar to rupee today: the numbers
| Measure | Rate (₹ per US dollar) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Close, 30 September | 95.94 | PTI |
| Open, 1 October | 95.95 | PTI |
| Intraday low, 1 October | 96.34 | PTI |
| Close, 1 October (provisional) | 96.31 | PTI |
| FBIL reference rate, 1 October (1 pm) | 95.9927 | RBI website |
The reference rate, set by Financial Benchmarks India (FBIL) and shown on the RBI’s homepage, is fixed at 1 pm, so it captures the USD to INR rate before Thursday’s afternoon slide. On the morning of 2 October the RBI homepage still showed the 1 October figure, so it remains the latest official benchmark for the dollar to rupee today. Banks use it as a benchmark for many contracts; the rate a customer gets at a counter or on a forex card includes the bank’s own margin.
| Currency | FBIL reference rate, 1 October 2026 (₹) |
|---|---|
| 1 US dollar | 95.9927 |
| 1 British pound | 127.2214 |
| 1 euro | 108.6151 |
| 100 Japanese yen | 60.6700 |
| 1 UAE dirham | 26.1356 |
Why did the rupee fall?
Traders pointed to risk aversion in global markets. Global bond yields surged, the dollar index rose 0.45% to 101.90, and Brent crude climbed 2.54% to $100.52 a barrel, PTI reported. Foreign institutional investors sold Indian equities worth ₹10,148.41 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, adding to demand for dollars. Dollar sales by state-run banks limited the fall, according to BusinessLine.
“A strong dollar and surge in global crude oil prices may further pressurise the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, adding that uncertainty over a US-Iran deal could weigh on the currency, while RBI intervention may support it at lower levels.
The fall came on the same day the Sensex lost 570.59 points, as reported in our Sensex report for 1 October. Reuters, in a poll report carried by Mint on 28 September, said the rupee had weakened about 6% this year and that the RBI faced pressure to defend it with a rate increase. Our RBI policy preview covers the 7 October decision.
What a weaker rupee costs you
A weaker rupee raises the rupee cost of anything priced in dollars. The dollar to rupee today level of 96.31 is 37 paise higher than a day earlier. The table uses the 30 September and 1 October closing rates to show the change from one day’s move alone; actual amounts would also include bank margins, card fees and any tax collected at source.
| Expense in dollars | Cost at 95.94 | Cost at 96.31 | Extra cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 foreign holiday | ₹2,87,820 | ₹2,88,930 | ₹1,110 |
| $40,000 annual tuition abroad | ₹38,37,600 | ₹38,52,400 | ₹14,800 |
| $250,000, the yearly LRS limit | ₹2,39,85,000 | ₹2,40,77,500 | ₹92,500 |
Calculations are ours, based on PTI’s closing rates.
Foreign travel and overseas education
Families paying university fees or living costs abroad feel the USD to INR rate most directly, because these payments are large and recurring. Resident individuals can send up to $250,000 a financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which covers purposes such as studies, travel and gifts, according to the RBI’s LRS FAQs. Some families split large fee payments across dates or buy currency in advance to spread out exchange-rate risk, though no one can predict which way the rate will move next.
Travellers who have already loaded a forex card at an earlier rate are protected on that amount. Spending on a regular debit or credit card abroad is converted at the rate applied when the transaction is processed, plus the bank’s markup.
NRI remittances
For NRIs, the move works the other way. At the dollar to rupee today rate, each $1,000 sent home on Thursday fetched ₹96,310 at the closing rate, ₹370 more than a day earlier. Inflows into foreign currency deposits, such as FCNR(B), were mentioned by Bank of Baroda’s Madan Sabnavis in a Business Standard poll this week. NRIs buying or selling property in India face separate tax rules, explained in our guide on TDS on property purchase from an NRI.
Imported goods, fuel and gold
A weaker rupee feeds into prices of imported goods and components, so the dollar to rupee today rate matters well beyond foreign trips. Appliance makers cited a weaker rupee, along with metal and crude-derivative costs, when they announced the AC and TV price increases from October. Crude oil is priced in dollars, so the rupee’s fall adds to the cost of every barrel India imports at a time when Brent is around $100.
Gold works the same way. Domestic prices follow the international price converted into rupees, so a weaker rupee can push up local rates even when global prices are flat. IBJA’s 999 gold rate closed at ₹1,48,138 per 10 grams on the evening of 1 October, up ₹250 from 30 September, according to IBJA’s website; there is no rate for 2 October because of the holiday. Earlier moves are in our gold and silver price report for 30 September.
Exporters and IT companies tend to benefit when the rupee weakens, since they earn in dollars. The Nifty IT index rose 2.17% on Thursday, the only sector index to gain, BusinessLine reported.
FAQ: dollar to rupee today
What is the dollar to rupee rate today, 2 October 2026?
There is no fresh rate because currency markets are closed for Gandhi Jayanti. The last close was 96.31 (provisional) on 1 October.
What is the RBI reference rate for the dollar?
FBIL’s reference rate on 1 October was ₹95.9927 per dollar, fixed at 1 pm. It appears on the RBI’s homepage.
Does a weaker rupee affect NRIs?
Yes, in their favour on remittances. Every dollar sent home converts into more rupees: about 37 paise more per dollar than on 30 September.
Disclaimer: Exchange rates are as reported by PTI and FBIL for 1 October 2026; extra-cost figures are illustrative. Rates offered by banks and money changers include their own margins.
