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On Monday, the rupee dropped to its lowest ever level of 90.80 before ending at a new all-time low of 90.74 (provisional) against the US dollar.
Rupee depreciates against the US dollar.
The rupee on Monday slipped to its lowest-ever level of 90.80 before settling at a fresh all-time low of 90.74 (provisional) against the US dollar, pressured by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and continued foreign fund outflows.
The domestic currency lost 25 paise from its previous close. Forex traders said a risk-averse market mood and strong dollar demand from importers further weighed on investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar and later touched a record intra-day low of 90.80, down 31 paise from its previous close. It finally closed at 90.74 (provisional), marking a fresh lifetime low.
On Friday, the rupee had already weakened by 17 paise to close at a then record low of 90.49 against the greenback.
Commenting on the move, Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said the Indian rupee was the worst-performing currency among its Asian peers.
“The Indian rupee plunged to a record low, making it the worst performer among Asian currencies. Even though the trade balance was better than expected, the rupee could not find support,” Parmar said.
He added that the weakness was largely driven by demand-supply imbalance.
“This weakness is mainly due to a big gap between demand and supply, with high dollar demand from importers and ongoing capital outflows being the main worries for the currency,” Parmar noted.
From a technical perspective, Parmar said the outlook remains tilted in favour of the dollar.
“In the short term, the technical outlook for the USD-INR pair is still positive, with key resistance at 90.95 and support at 90.50,” he said.
Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India and the US are “very close” to finalising a framework trade deal.
“We are very close to the framework deal, which we think can be done soon. But I don’t want to give a timeline,” Agrawal told reporters.
India and the US are currently holding parallel discussions—one focused on a framework trade deal to address high tariffs and another on a full bilateral trade agreement. Indian industry and exporters are keenly awaiting clarity, as elevated import duties continue to hurt exports to the US.
The two sides concluded two days of talks last Thursday, during which trade issues and the proposed bilateral agreement were discussed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump also spoke on Thursday on maintaining momentum in the economic partnership, amid indications that the long-pending trade deal could be nearing completion.
In global markets, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, fell 0.08 percent to 98.32. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.21 percent to USD 61.25 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the Sensex slipped 54.30 points to close at 85,213.36, while the Nifty declined 19.65 points to 26,027.30.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 1.033 billion to USD 687.26 billion for the week ended December 5, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday. In the previous week, forex reserves had declined by USD 1.877 billion to USD 686.227 billion.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 15, 2025, 17:50 IST
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