What is the story about?
Rupee Vs US Dollar: The rupee plunged more than 35 paise today (Tuesday, December 16) to a record low of 91.14 against the US dollar, weighed down by sustained
FII outflows and no breakthrough in the India-US trade deal. This is the first time when Indian currency has crossed the 91-mark. The rupee fell from 90 a dollar to 91 in just last 10 trading sessions. The local unit has slipped 1 per cent against the greenback in the past five sessions alone. Earlier on Monday, the rupee settled at a new all-time low of 90.78 against the US dollar, registering a loss of 29 paise over its previous close.
Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said that the US-India trade deal still seems to be off by a distance.
"The uncertainty has clouded the recovery on the USD/INR pair... with dollar buying happening every day," a PTI report quoted him as saying.
Rupee Is Falling: Impact on Stock Market
Rupee is now Asia's worst performing currency in 2025 as it has declined more than 7 per cent so far. A Bloomberg report said that the rupee’s slide to repeated record lows is finally starting to pinch the equity market. Analysts warned that prolonged weakness could undermine the investor confidence. In December, global funds have withdrawn about USD 1.6 billion from Indian equities, reversing USD 1.3 billion of inflows over the prior two months. They have also pulled money from local debt.
Akshat Garg, head of research at Choice Wealth, said that foreign investors have continued to pare exposure to Indian equities and debt, resulting in steady dollar outflows.
"There is growing pressure on the currency amid a combination of global uncertainty and India-specific capital flow challenges,” he said.
RBI Unlikely To Intervene
According to Barclays Plc, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not strongly resist further weakness in Rupee in the current environment, prioritizing growth over currency defense.
A weaker rupee does benefit companies that earn a large share of revenue overseas, particularly technology companies. Besides, pharmaceutical and metal companies also benefit from the slide, but this hurts banks, energy producers and infrastructure companies.
As per data, IT stocks have climbed about 14 per cent since the end of September, coinciding with the period in which rupee losses deepened.
