New Delhi: The rupee fell to a new record low against the US dollar on Wednesday, as global risk aversion stoked by the on-going Greenland dispute compounded persistent capital outflows and fear over India’s stalled trade talks with the United States. The currency briefly slipped past 91.50 per dollar in intraday trade, rupturing its earlier lifetime low of 91.07 in December, before stabilising slightly.
Traders said mounting tensions over US president Donald Trump’s renewed push on Greenland, and the prospect of a tariff confrontation with Europe, have unnerved global markets forcing investors out of risky emerging-market assets. As equities across Asia fell, Indian shares logged one of their lowest declines in months, with foreign investors dumping local stocks and raising demand for the dollar.
Analysts feel that the slide of the rupee was part of a broader risk-off move, even as the dollar index itself softened slightly sparked by the Greenland-linked uncertainty.
According to experts, foreign portfolio investors have pulled an estimated 2.7–3 billion dollars from Indian equities so far this month — after nearly 19 billion dollars of outflows in 2025 — thereby, adding to more pressure on the currency. Importers have heightened hedging on expectations of further depreciation, while exporters remain relatively slow to lock in higher forward rates, keeping demand-supply uncertain.
Dealers said the Reserve Bank of India has been largely tolerant of flow-driven weakness in recent weeks, intervening, though, sporadically through dollar sales to smooth volatility rather than defend any specific level. Market participants will closely observe whether a sustained break above 91.50 leads to a stronger RBI response, especially if the Greenland-related tensions intensify and accelerate outflows.
