Rupee declines 10 paise to 90.44 against US dollar in early trade

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The rupee extended its weakening momentum for the third straight session, losing 10 paise to 90.44 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, weighed down by relentless outflow of foreign funds and a firm greenback.

Lower crude oil prices and positive equity market sentiment prevented a steep fall in the domestic currency, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.37 and slipped further to trade at 90.44 against the greenback, 10 paise lower than the closing level of the previous session.

The rupee declined 11 paise to close at 90.34 against the US dollar on Wednesday, a day after falling 6 paise.

The foreign exchange markets were closed on Thursday due to a holiday for the Mumbai municipal corporation elections.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02 per cent lower at 99.10.

Analysts said the American currency was impacted by the December US inflation numbers, which have reduced hopes for an immediate interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Also, they said that the rupee faced pressure after data released on Thursday showed India's trade deficit widened slightly to USD 25.04 billion in December 2025, compared to USD 24.53 billion in November and USD 22 billion in December 2024.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.34 per cent lower at USD 63.54 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex climbed 210.04 points to 83,592.75, while the Nifty rose 34.65 points to 25,700.25.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 4,781.24 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

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