The Indian rupee depreciated 9 paise to 88.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, weighed down by the greenback’s strength in overseas markets and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said that optimism around the ongoing India-US trade talks failed to support the domestic currency as a global risk-off sentiment dominated investor mood. They added that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is closely monitoring the USDINR pair as it edges toward the 88.80 level.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 88.73 and slipped to 88.77 against the greenback, down 9 paise from its previous close of 88.68.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was slightly lower by 0.07% at 99.19. Brent crude futures rose 0.36% to USD 63.55 per barrel.
Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said, “Trade tariffs are the only point of concern for now. The rupee’s cautious movement near key technical levels like 88.80 and 88.50 suggests a finely balanced market. RBI actions and global trade developments will determine USDINR’s direction.”
A team of senior Indian officials is in the US this week to advance talks on the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with both sides aiming to conclude the first phase by the fall of 2025. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been completed.
On the domestic front, equity markets opened higher, with the Sensex climbing 246.32 points to 82,573.37 and the Nifty rising 83 points to 25,310.35. However, Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth ₹240.10 crore on Monday, exchange data showed.
