The rupee slipped further against the US dollar on Tuesday, briefly moving past 91 per dollar in morning trade and edging close to its all‑time low, as strong dollar demand and foreign fund outflows kept pressure on the currency.
Rupee nears record low
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened around 90.91 and quickly weakened, touching an intraday low near 91.05 before trading around 91.02 by 10.20 am.
The previous close was about 90.90–90.91 per dollar. The Indian currency has now fallen in five consecutive sessions and is hovering just below its record intraday low near 91.07–91.14 hit in mid‑December 2025.
Forex traders said the move is largely “flow‑driven”, with steady dollar buying by metal and other importers, and reduced foreign investor appetite for Indian assets.
Foreign institutional investors have pulled out over $3 billion from Indian equities so far in January, making the rupee more sensitive to even modest dollar demand, according to market watchers and exchange data.
So why the dive in the rupee? Analysts point to a mix of global and domestic factors. Rising geopolitical tensions, including renewed US tariff threats and uncertainty around “Trump tariffs”, have pushed investors towards safe‑haven assets like gold and the dollar, while keeping emerging market currencies under pressure.
A softer dollar index on Tuesday offered only limited relief, as local factors such as weak equities and sustained outflows dominated sentiment.
On the domestic front, the Sensex and Nifty were both trading lower in early deals, reflecting risk‑off sentiment and mirroring the pressure on the rupee. This followed the major bear run on Monday in the Indian bourses.
Oil prices, a key driver for India’s import bill, were slightly higher, which typically weighed on the rupee since India imports most of its crude.
RBI and the rupee
The Reserve Bank of India was seen selling dollars in small quantities daily at multiple levels rather than defending any single rate, which seemed to have slowed but not reversed the rupee’s slide.
Earlier trends and research on India’s forex market suggest that during such bouts of volatility, RBI’s calibrated interventions could reduce excessive swings but could fully offset strong global risk‑off trends or sustained portfolio outflows.
Market analysts, however, now see 91.07 as a key resistance level. A sustained break above that zone could open the door to further weakness, while any pullback may find support around 90.30–90.50 per dollar.