Near all-time low! Rupee slips 7 paise to 88.80 against US dollar; depreciation driven by US tariffs, H-1B visa fee hike

Rupee depreciated by 7 paise to 88.80 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, hovering near its all-time low amid US tariff concerns, H-1B visa fee hikes, and persistent foreign fund outflows.At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.80 and touched 88.71 in initial trades. On Tuesday, it had fallen 45 paise to close at a fresh all-time low of 88.73, after hitting an intraday low of 88.82 against the greenback.“The H-1B visa fees has only aggravated the overall issues that India and US need to resolve,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.Bhansali noted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed the rupee’s weakening to support exporters.“We may see new lows this week towards 89.00 before a pullback could be seen to enable importers to buy dollars,” he added, as quoted by PTI.

Forex traders said the rupee’s fall is fueled by enhanced US tariffs on Indian goods, the H-1B visa fee hike, and investor risk-aversion amid trade policy uncertainty.

The dollar index, measuring the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.09% at 97.35. Brent crude rose 0.24% to $ 67.79 per barrel in futures trade.

The Sensex dropped 380.48 points to 81,721.62, while the Nifty declined 106.45 points to 25,063.05 in early trade. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,551.19 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.