Rupee declines 27 paise to close at 87.52 against U.S. dollar

The rupee fell 27 paise to close at 87.52 (provisional) against the greenback on Friday (August 22, 2025) as domestic equity markets ended weaker and the U.S. dollar strengthened ahead of the speech of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

However, inflow of foreign funds and a drop in Brent crude prices supported the domestic unit at lower level.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 87.37 against the greenback and traded in the range of 87.32-87.55 before settling at 87.52 (provisional), down 27 paise from its previous close.

The rupee pared initial gains on Thursday (August 21, 2025) to settle lower by 18 paise at 87.25 against the greenback.

“The rupee continued to weaken for a second day against the U.S. dollar mainly on account of the strength of the U.S. dollar ahead of the speech of Fed Chairman Powell and renewed concerns over steep US tariffs on Indian exports,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

“Oil importers have stepped up their dollar buying, adding to the demand from importers who were hedging for a short term after finding rupee above 87 in the last four days. Foreign banks were sellers but the overall trend has been a modest decline in the rupee’s value,” he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.11% to 98.72.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.31 per cent down at $67.46 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tanked 693.86 points to settle at 81,306.85, while Nifty was down 213.65 points to 24,870.10.

Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth ₹1,246.51 crore on Thursday (August 21, 2025), according to exchange data.