The rupee (INR) remained close to its all-time low, falling 22 paise to 89.75 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as the absence of a US-India trade deal overshadowed the effect of impressive economic growth. The rupee fell to 89.73 against the US dollar on Monday, falling below its earlier record low of 89.49 reached about two weeks ago. The currency has fallen by more than a rupee against the US dollar since November 3, based on available data. This decline in the currency comes just ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) policy meeting and despite strong GDP growth of 8.2% for the second quarter announced on Friday. The RBI is all set to convene the Monetary Policy Committee meeting between December 3, 2025 and December 5, 2025. According to a Reuters report, traders indicated that the Indian central bank is likely to sell US dollars to prevent the rupee from falling below 90. The currency’s decline is driven by corporate demand for dollars, spectacular trading position of exporters. Dr. VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, noted that the continued depreciation of the rupee is a discouraging factor affecting foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows. A reasonable trade deal between India and the US could help stabilize the rupee, but this negotiation has been delayed for a long time. (more to come)