Rupee falls against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee plunged 9 paise to a record low of 90.87 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Tuesday (December 16, 2025), weighed down by sustained Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) outflows and no breakthrough in the India-U.S. trade deal.

However, a weaker greenback and a decline in global crude oil prices capped further losses in the domestic unit, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at its all-time low of 90.87 against the U.S. dollar, down 9 paise from its previous close, and traded in a narrow range of 90.77-90.87 in early trade.

The rupee on Monday (December 15, 2025) settled at a new all-time low of 90.78 against the U.S. dollar, registering a loss of 29 paise over its previous close, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-U.S. trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.

“The India-U.S. trade deal still seems to be off by a distance with the Commerce Secretary saying the first phase will be signed before the end of the year and news that we are closest to the deal being signed. The uncertainty has clouded the recovery on the dollar and rupee pair as the rupee opened lower with dollar buying happening every day,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

Even a reduction in trade deficit on Monday (December 15, 2025) could not bring about a recovery in the rupee with FII outflows continuing, Mr. Bhansali added.

According to the latest government data released on Monday (December 15, 2025), India’s trade deficit narrowed to a five-month low of $24.53 billion in November, as exports rebounded by 19.37% to a six-month high of $38.13 billion after contracting in October, driven by higher shipments of engineering and electronics goods.

At the same time, the country’s imports dipped by 1.88% to $62.66 billion due to a fall in the inbound shipments of gold, crude oil, coal, and coke.

FIIs sold equities worth ₹1,468.32 crore on Monday (December 15, 2025), according to exchange data.

Also, wholesale price inflation stayed in the negative for the second consecutive month in November at (-) 0.32%, even though there was an uptick in prices of food articles like pulses and vegetables on a month-on-month basis, government data showed on Monday (December 15, 2025).

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) — based inflation was at (-) 1.21% in October and 2.16% in November 2024.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03% lower at 98.27.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.61% lower at $60.19 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index, Sensex, declined 363.92 points to 84,849.44 in early trade while the Nifty was down 106.65 points to 25,920.65.