Rupee plunges 30 paise to 86.56 against U.S. dollar in early trade

Rupee weakens against dollar amid global economic concerns, awaiting RBI policy decision, stock markets remain volatile.

The rupee lost further ground on the fourth straight session, declining sharply by 30 paise to 86.56 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Wednesday (April 9, 2025) ahead of the Reserve Bank's monetary policy decisions.

Forex traders said that despite a steep fall in crude oil prices and a weak American currency, the looming worldwide trade war continued to stoke fears of global economic meltdown, fuelling withdrawal of foreign funds with the stock markets remaining shell-shocked.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.52 and hit the low of 86.60 before strengthening a tad to 86.56 against the greenback in early deals, still sharply lower by 30 paise from the previous closing level.

On Tuesday (April 8, 2025), the unit crashed 50 paise to settle at 86.26 against the dollar. This was the steepest single-day decline for the rupee since January 13, when it lost 66 paise.

In the preceding two sessions on Monday and Friday, the rupee lost 32 paise and 14 paise, respectively.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.59% lower at 102.09.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 3.63% to its record low level of $60.50 per barrel in futures trade.