The rupee fell 3 paise to 89.90 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Thursday (January 8, 2026) weighed down by a rise in global crude oil prices and FII outflows.

A strengthening dollar and weaker sentiments in the domestic equity markets put additional pressure on the rupee, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 89.96 against the U.S. dollar and later rose to 89.90, lower by 3 paise from its previous close.

The rupee rose 31 paise to close at 89.87 against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday on possible intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a fall in global crude oil prices.

“The RBI capped the dollar strength against rupee at 90.30 and did not allow it go beyond this by selling at 90.22 levels on Wednesday, despite the constant dollar demand from FPIs and importers who kept buying dollars on all dips up to 89.75,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

“Today the upside seems to be capped while the downside could extend to 89.50 if the RBI continues to intervene in the market,” he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01% higher at 98.69.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.38% higher at $60.19 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex declined 255.86 points to 84,705.28 in early trade, while the Nifty slipped 65.9 points to 26,074.85.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹1,527.71 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

The rupee fell 7 paise to 88.77 against the dollar in early trade on Monday (November 3, 2025), weighed down by higher crude oil prices and continuous outflow of foreign capital amid uncertainties over global trade.

According to forex traders, negative sentiment in domestic equities also pressured the Indian currency, even though a weak American currency provided some cushion at a lower level.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.73 and slipped further to trade at 88.77 against the greenback, down 7 paise from its previous closing level.

The rupee had ended 1 paisa lower at 88.70 against the dollar on Friday, a day after crashing 47 paise on Thursday, following the commentary of U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04% to 99.59.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.31% to ₹64.97 per barrel in futures trading.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 258.83 points or 0.31% to 83,679.88 in early trade, while the Nifty fell 47.95 points or 0.19% to 25,674.15.

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth ₹6,769.34 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

The RBI data released on Friday showed the country’s forex reserves dropped by $6.925 billion to $695.355 billion during the week ended October 24. The reserves had increased by $4.496 billion to $702.28 billion during the previous week.

On the macroeconomic front, the Union government’s fiscal deficit stood at 36.5% of the full-year target at the end of the first half of FY26, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday.

In the first six months of the previous financial year, the gap between the government’s expenditure and revenue was 29% of the Budget Estimates (BE) of 2024-25.