Image used for representative purpose only. , Photo courtesy: Reuters
The rupee fell 10 paise to close at 89.98 (provisional) against the US dollar in the first trading session of 2026 on Thursday (January 1, 2026), as sustained foreign fund outflows and negative trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair was trading in a range-bound range as weakness in crude oil prices was offset by a positive trend in the US dollar index and foreign fund outflows.
The Indian rupee declined on the first day of the year, after registering a 5% decline in 2025, as significant fund outflows kept dollar demand elevated and pressured the rupee.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 89.94 against the dollar, touching an intra-day low of 89.99 and a high of 89.93.
At the end of Thursday’s trading session, the rupee quoted at 89.98 (provisional) against the greenback, 10 paise lower than its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee fell 13 paise to close at 89.88 against the US dollar.
In 2025, the rupee fell 5% amid continued foreign capital outflows and rising dollar demand from importers, making it one of the worst performing Asian currencies.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.09% higher at 98.32.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.78% higher at $60.85 a barrel in futures trade.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is trading under pressure due to several factors, including a shift towards risk aversion, continued capital outflows by foreign investors ahead of the holidays as well as rising greenback demand from importers.
On the domestic equity market front, the stock market ended the first trading session of 2026 on a flat note. The Sensex was down 32 points at 85,188.60, while the Nifty was up 16.95 points at 26,146.55.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth ₹3,597.38 crore on Wednesday.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, gross GST collections rose 6.1% to over ₹1.74 lakh crore in December 2025 due to a slow growth in revenue from domestic sales following the comprehensive tax cut, according to government data released on Thursday.
Gross goods and services tax (GST) revenue in December 2024 was more than ₹1.64 lakh crore.
published – January 01, 2026 04:30 PM IST
