The rupee fell 8 paise to 90.98 against the US dollar in early trade

The rupee fell 8 paise to 90.98 against the US currency in early trade on Tuesday, as strong dollar demand from metal importers and continued foreign fund inflows dampened investor sentiment.

Forex traders said rising geopolitical uncertainty, including new expansionary signs from the US, have averted risk and kept emerging market currencies under pressure.

Moreover, foreign capital migration triggered a sluggish domestic stock market, they said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened at 90.91 and lost ground to trade at 90.98 against the greenback, 8 paise below its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee fell 12 paise to close at 90.90 against the greenback, slightly above its record low closing level. On December 16, 2025, the rupee touched an intraday low of 91.14 and a closing low of 90.93 against the US currency.

“The US Supreme Court will decide on the legality of Trump tariffs, which will have a direct impact on global markets. Currently, all markets are in a risk-free mode and gold and silver are being bought as safe havens,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Treasury Head and Executive Director of Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading down 0.44 percent at 98.95.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.11 percent higher at USD 64.01 a barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex was down 311.33 points at 82,934.85 and the Nifty was down 99.5 points at 25,486 in early trade.

According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors on Monday invested Rs. 3,262.82 crore equity was sold.

“Foreign investors have withdrawn more than USD 3 billion from Indian equities so far in January and the sustained outflows have made the rupee increasingly vulnerable to even modest demand for the dollar. Stability becomes difficult to defend as capital flows out,” said Amit Pabari, MD, CR Forex Advisors.

Pabari further noted that ongoing global uncertainty, with a sustained break above 91.07, could pave the way for a move towards the 91.70-92.00 zone, unless offset by active RBI intervention. On the downside, any corrective move is likely to find initial support in the 90.30-90.50 range.