91 breached! Rupee slips to new all-time low—Why it is falling? Anil Singhvi decodes

The Indian rupee slipped to another all-time low in early trade on Wednesday, extending its recent weakness against the US dollar.

The rupee fell 9 paise to touch a record low of 91.18 against the dollar in early deals. The local currency remained under pressure due to sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and the absence of any major breakthrough in the India–US trade talks.

On Tuesday, the rupee had breached the key psychological level of 91 for the first time. It weakened to 91.14 during intraday trade in the spot market, making it the weakest currency in Asia and among the weakest major global currencies in 2025.

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However, the rupee recovered slightly during the session and settled at 90.93 on Tuesday. This was still a sharp fall compared with its previous close of 90.78, marking a decline of nearly 16 paise and a fresh closing record low.

Why rupee is falling: Anil Singhvi decodes

Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi said the rupee has been under pressure due to multiple global factors. He noted that the rupee has made a new life low of around 91.08 for the fourth consecutive day, signalling sustained weakness.

According to Singhvi, the next two to three days could remain challenging for the rupee. A key trigger to watch is the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision scheduled for December 19. Markets are factoring in a strong possibility of a rate hike by the Japanese central bank.

Singhvi explained that if interest rates rise in Japan, it could trigger an unwinding of the yen carry trade. This has emerged as a major risk for emerging market currencies, including the rupee, and is one of the reasons why the rupee is currently the weakest currency in the region.

He added that the impact of the yen carry trade is likely to fade near the 92.25–92.50 levels, suggesting that pressure on the rupee could ease around those levels.