Overview
- The currency ended at 90.05 after touching an intraday low of 90.26, slipping from Friday’s 89.95 close.
- Forex participants pointed to elevated crude prices, persistent foreign portfolio outflows, and steady corporate demand for dollars as key drags.
- The RBI has cut the repo rate to 5.25% and announced a $5 billion three-year dollar–rupee swap auction for December 16.
- Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the central bank does not target a specific rupee band, reiterating that markets determine the exchange rate.
- Investors are watching the Fed’s December 9–10 policy decision, with a rate cut widely expected, and three-day India–US trade talks starting December 10.