The rupee fell 0.3% to 91.2350, its weakest level since early February, while benchmark stock indexes Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex were down about 1% each. Asian equities and currencies fell in response as investors dashed towards safe havens, looking to assess how a rise in oil prices could impact economies in the region. Brent crude oil futures were last up nearly 6% on the day, after touching a peak of US$82 per barrel in earlier trade. "Higher oil prices present a compounded risk on top of the weak capital flows which have already been weighing on the rupee," said Dhiraj Nim, an economist and FX strategist at ANZ. "If oil prices remain elevated for a while, they could raise troubles for Indian government bonds as well which have already been struggling with concerns over elevated fiscal supply," ANZ's Nim said.

Source: The Edge Markets March 02, 2026 08:56 UTC