NEW DELHI: The Indian rupee hit an all-time low on Monday, January 13, 2025, sliding for the second consecutive session as the US dollar rallied on the back of better-than-expected job growth in the US market. The dollar index rose 0.22% to a two-year high of 109.72, with 10-year US bond yields holding steady at 4.76%.
The rupee’s depreciation was further fueled by several external and domestic factors, including a record surge in crude oil prices, foreign capital outflows, and a negative trend in Indian equities, according to a media report citing forex traders.
Brent Crude rose 1.55% to $81.00 per barrel, while WTI increased by 1.76% to $77.92 per barrel. Natural Gas (Nymex) saw a sharp jump of 5.99%, reaching $4.23 per Metric Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu), as per Bloomberg data for February 2025 contracts.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) contributed to the pressure by offloading ₹2,254.68 crore worth of Indian stocks on Friday, January 10, 2025, according to exchange data. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported on Friday that the country’s forex reserves fell by USD 5.693 billion to USD 634.585 billion in the week ending January 3.
The impact was also visible on the Indian stock market, where the
NEW DELHI: The Indian rupee hit an all-time low on Monday, January 13, 2025, sliding for the second consecutive session as the US dollar rallied on the back of better-than-expected job growth in the US market. The dollar index rose 0.22% to a two-year high of 109.72, with 10-year US bond yields holding steady at 4.76%.
The rupee’s depreciation was further fueled by several external and domestic factors, including a record surge in crude oil prices, foreign capital outflows, and a negative trend in Indian equities, according to a media report citing forex traders.
Brent Crude rose 1.55% to $81.00 per barrel, while WTI increased by 1.76% to $77.92 per barrel. Natural Gas (Nymex) saw a sharp jump of 5.99%, reaching $4.23 per Metric Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu), as per Bloomberg data for February 2025 contracts.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) contributed to the pressure by offloading ₹2,254.68 crore worth of Indian stocks on Friday, January 10, 2025, according to exchange data. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported on Friday that the country’s forex reserves fell by USD 5.693 billion to USD 634.585 billion in the week ending January 3.
The impact was also visible on the Indian stock market, where the benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled by 677.22 points, or 0.88%, to 76,701.69 after opening. The broader NSE Nifty declined by 212.90 points, or 0.91%, to 23,218.60.
Amid attacks on the BJP from Congress over the GDP report, the situation has been exacerbated. Congress is now criticizing the BJP for the rupee’s fall to an all-time low.
Jairam Ramesh tweeted on X on Jan 13, “When Mr Narendra Modi took over as PM, he was about to turn 64 and the rupee was at 58.58 to the dollar. He waxed eloquently about making the rupee stronger and mockingly linked its fall to his predecessor’s age. Well, now as Mr. Modi prepares to turn 75 later in the year, the rupee has already declined well past 86 to the dollar. As the fall continues, Mr. Modi has clearly been hoisted with his own petard.”
