Rupee tanks 44 paise to fresh all-time low of 90.78 per dollar

Mumbai: The rupee tumbled for the third straight session, losing 44 paise to settle near its lowest level at 90.78 against the US dollar on Friday, on strong dollar demand and persistent foreign fund outflows..

Volatile global sentiment and a firm American currency accelerated the withdrawal of foreign institutional investors, even as domestic investors resorted to value buying, forex traders said.

According to traders rupee faced pressure after data released on Thursday showed India’s trade deficit widened slightly to $25.04 billion in December 2025, compared to $24.53 billion in November and $22 billion in December 2024.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.37 and touched an intraday low of 90.89, a tad above its lowest-ever closing level.

It ended the session at 90.78 against the greenback, down 44 paise from Wednesday’s close.

The rupee declined by 11 paise to close at 90.34 against the US dollar on Wednesday, after falling 6 paise on Tuesday.

The Indian currency recorded its lowest closing level of 90.93 on December 16, when it also saw its lifetime low of 91.14 in intraday trade.

Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said the rupee fell for the third consecutive session amid persistent foreign fund outflows and a strong dollar overnight.

He said the dollar strengthened after better-than-expected US unemployment claims and manufacturing data.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on uncertainty over trade deal talks and geopolitical tensions. A strong dollar, FII outflows from capital markets and elevated crude oil prices may pressurise the rupee,” Choudhary said and projected the USD-INR spot price to trade “in a range of 90.50 to 91.25”.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.06 per cent lower at 99.26.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.14 per cent higher at $64.49 per barrel in futures trade.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,781.24 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.