The Indian rupee sign.
Credit: iStock Photo
Mumbai: The rupee dropped 7 paise to settle at 89.43 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, tracking a strong greenback and a rise in crude oil prices in the international market.
The Indian currency was also weighed down by subdued equity market sentiment and the withdrawal of foreign funds, even as investors keenly awaited the release of domestic macroeconomic data later in the day, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.41 and touched the intra-day low of 89.49 against the greenback. It finally settled at 89.43 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a loss of 7 paise from the previous close.
The rupee depreciated 14 paise to settle at 89.36 against the US dollar on Thursday.
Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said the Indian rupee traded on a negative bias amid a recovery in the US dollar index and mixed-to-weak domestic markets. FII outflows and overnight gains in crude oil prices also pressured the rupee.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a slight positive bias on rising odds of a rate cut by the Fed in December and easing geopolitical tensions," Choudhary said, adding, "USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 89.25 to 89.70." The finance ministry, in a monthly economic review for October released on Thursday, said the rupee's 3.5 per cent loss against the greenback from the end of March to the end of October this year was consistent with broader emerging-market currency trends.
"Looking at the longer trend, the INR depreciated by 3.5 per cent against the US dollar from the end of March to the end of October 2025, demonstrating a gradual weakening consistent with broader emerging-market currency trends," the report said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was 0.18 per cent higher at 99.69.
Analysts attributed the strength in the greenback to increased demand from importers and banks for month-end trade payment settlements.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.27 per cent to $63.51 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex dipped marginally by 13.71 points to settle at 85,706.67, while Nifty slipped 12.60 points to 26,202.95.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,255.20 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.