The Indian rupee dropped by up to 50 paise to reach an all time low of 90.84 (provisional) against the U.S dollar on Friday, January 16, 2026 and this is the third consecutive session in which the currency weakened. The drastic decline was fueled by the increase in the price of crude oil, the inflows of foreign funds, and fluctuation in the global market feeling, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee started trading at a weaker level of 90.37 and dropped further to reach intraday low of 90.89, which was very near its lowest point of trade. It closed the session finally at 90.84 which does not mean but shows a very steep fall compared to the previous Wednesday which was 90.34. The domestic forex market was closed again on Thursday because of the Mumbai municipal corporation elections.
The currency has been experiencing a consistent pressure throughout the week as it has lost 11 paise on Wednesday following a 6-paise loss on Tuesday which is an indication of a consistent weakness despite the external headwinds. Traders blamed the decline to a stronger U.S. dollar, high crude prices, and a high rate of selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), although the domestic investors were buying value.
Internationally, the dollar index that tracks the dollar against six key currencies was down by a slight margin of 0.06% to 99.26, and this was not much relief to the emerging market currencies. Meanwhile, Brent crude the global oil standard rose 1.14 per cent to 64.49 a barrel, raising anxieties about the import bill and inflation prospects of India.
The domestic markets were resilient on the equity front. The Sensex was elevated 187.64 points to close at 83,570.35, whereas Nifty was lifted 28.75 points to close at 25,694.35. But still the FIIs remained net sellers and sold equities amounting to 4781.24 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.
Market participants are playing it safe and the rupee is expected to continue fluctuating due to the world and flow of capital.
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