The government has projected the country’s GDP to grow 7.4% in the current fiscal year, maintaining its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy despite punitive US tariffs and geopolitical tensions. file | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The rupee depreciated 7 paise to close at 89.94 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday (January 8, 2026) due to multiple factors including higher crude oil prices, foreign fund outflows and stronger US dollar.
Forex traders said fears of any further tariffs by the US and weak sentiments in domestic equity markets weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 89.96 and traded in the range of 89.73 to 90.13. Ultimately it closed at 89.94 (provisional), down 7 paise from its previous closing price.
“If US increases tariffs even by 10 bps, India will face big trouble on its exports [basis points]Because emotionally it turns from ‘deal in the pipeline’ to ‘back to square one’. Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said, “The buying sentiment in the dollar will remain due to lack of RBI in the market.”
He said, the rupee is expected to be between 89.80 to 90.30 on Friday (January 9).
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02% higher at 98.70.
Read | Is India’s 8.2% growth rate sustainable?
Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.85% higher at $60.47 a barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex fell 780.18 points to close at 84,180.9, while Nifty fell 263.90 points to 25,876.85.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,527.71 crore on Wednesday (January 7).
In its latest estimate on Wednesday (Jan 7), the government projected the country’s GDP to grow 7.4% in the current fiscal year, maintaining its position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy despite punitive US tariffs and geopolitical tensions.
The first advance estimates released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation show GDP growth in 2025-26 at 7.3%, better than the 7.3% forecast by the RBI and the government’s preliminary estimate of 6.3-6.8%.
published – January 08, 2026 05:20 PM IST
