<h1>Rupee volatility amid RBI rate pause, geopolitical tensions and oil price rise; reserves surge supports market liquidity</h1> Rupee depreciation against the US dollar was driven by external factors including geopolitical uncertainty over US-Iran talks and rising global crude prices; this weakened the currency to 90.65 despite an earlier intraday appreciation. The Reserve Bank maintained the repo rate, a monetary policy pause that temporarily supported the rupee but did not prevent losses caused by sustained foreign fund outflows; outcome: the rupee closed lower. Concurrently, foreign institutional investment flows and a substantial increase in the forex reserves to a record high materially affected market liquidity and exchange rate dynamics, reinforcing the interplay between capital flows and exchange rate movements.