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The rupee pared early gains against the US dollar on Monday (December 22, 2025) and closed 3 paise lower for the day at 89.70 (provisional) in negative territory as positive domestic equity support was negated by recovery in crude oil prices.
Forex traders said lack of progress in US-India trade talks weighed on sentiment, while a weak trend in the US dollar index supported the domestic unit at lower levels.
At the interbank forex, the rupee opened at 89.53 against the US dollar, then touched an intra-day high of 89.45, registering a gain of 22 paise from its previous close.
At the end of the trading session on Monday, the rupee was quoted at 89.70 (provisional), which is 3 paise less than the previous close.
On Friday, the rupee rose by 53 paise to 89.67 against the US dollar.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a positive bias due to a weak US dollar and strength in domestic markets. We may not see too many fresh FII outflows before the New Year holidays. However, the delay in the trade agreement between India and the US may continue to put pressure on the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.
Chaudhary further said that investors can keep an eye on US GDP data. USD-INR spot price is expected to remain in the range of 89.20 to 89.80.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08% lower at 98.52.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.86% higher at US$61 a barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 638.12 points to close at 85,567.48, while Nifty rose 206 points to 26,172.40.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹1,830.89 crore on Friday.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.689 billion to $688.949 billion during the week ended December 12. In the last reporting week, total reserves increased by $1.033 billion to $687.26 billion.
Meanwhile, India and New Zealand on Monday announced the conclusion of negotiations for a free trade agreement under which many domestic goods from sectors such as textiles, footwear, engineering and marine products will get duty-free access to New Zealand.
published – December 22, 2025 04:49 PM IST
