The Indian rupee breached the 88-mark for the first time on Friday, closing at a record low of 88.09 against the US dollar, down 51 paise, amid heavy foreign fund outflows and escalating trade tensions between India and the US. Forex traders cited persistent pressure from steep US tariffs, sustained FII selling, and increased month-end dollar demand.
The rupee opened at 87.73 and hit an intra-day low of 88.33 before settling at 88.09. This surpassed the previous closing low of 87.88 on August 5 and the prior intra-day record of 87.95 set in February.
Analysts expect further weakness in the rupee due to concerns over India’s trade deficit and weak domestic equity markets. On Friday, Sensex dropped 270.92 points to 79,809.65, while Nifty fell 74.05 points to 24,426.85.
The US dollar index rose to 97.94, while Brent crude slipped 0.76% to $68.10/barrel. Meanwhile, the RBI reported a $4.386 billion drop in forex reserves to $690.72 billion. Despite global uncertainties, India’s economy grew 7.8% in Q1 FY26, the fastest in five quarters.
