Rupee hits record low; slides to breach 89.5/$ amid trade uncertainty

Rupee sees sharp fall: The domestic currency fell as much as 83 paise to 89.54 on Friday, according to Bloomberg

The Indian Rupee fell sharply against the dollar on Friday, breaching the 89.5 mark to see a new low, after a relatively calm  morning session.

 

The domestic currency fell as much as 83 paise to 89.54 on Friday, according to Bloomberg. The currency pared some losses to end 79 paise lower at 89.49, the worst session since May 8, 2025. So far this year, the currency is down 4.53 per cent, the worst among its Asian peers. 

 

The plunge in the currency comes a day after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that the central bank does not target any specific value of the rupee, and the recent fall against the US dollar is mainly driven by higher dollar demand.

   

The governor noted that India’s foreign exchange reserves are healthy and provide ample protection. He said the Reserve Bank has “very good” buffers of forex reserves and there is no reason to be concerned about the external sector. He also added that the pressure on the currency would ease once India clinches a trade deal with the US.

 

Rupee declined to record lows on Friday, weighed down by US sanctions on an Indian firm dealing with Iran, a widening trade deficit, and a delay in the US-India trade deal, said Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

 

Market was short in anticipation of a trade deal and remained bid today, Bhansali said. "At 88.80, participants became jittery, and some players pressed the panic button and resulting in a short squeeze." 

The US Treasury Department had, on October 22, imposed a November 21 deadline for private refineries to stop purchasing Russian crude oil, particularly from Rosneft and Lukoil, two of Russia’s largest producers of crude. Reliance Industries (RIL) on Thursday said it has stopped importing Russian crude oil for processing at its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) refinery. 

 

The dollar hovering above the 100 mark, driven by reduced expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, weighed on emerging-market currencies, reports said. The measure of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.05 per cent at 100.1.