INDIA RUPEE-Rupee sinks to all-time low, logs steepest weekly fall in 6 months on outflows, hedging

By Nimesh Vora and Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee fell to a record low on Friday and posted its steepest weekly decline in six months, weighed by sustained foreign outflows and hedging by importers.

The rupee INR=IN came within a hair's breadth of the 92.00 level on Friday, slipping to an all-time low of 91.9650.

The currency then settled at 91.94, down 0.34% on the day, taking its losses to 1.18% for the week and 2.3% for the month.

Its underperformance this week was all the more telling considering that most Asian peers managed to post a modest advance against a weakening dollar index amid U.S. President Donald Trump issuing threats over Greenland and later walking them back.

"This is largely a repeat of what we saw through most of 2025. The rupee stays under pressure regardless of broader cues," said Kunal Kurani, vice president at Mecklai Financial Services.

Pressure on the rupee built steadily through the week and the month, with foreign investors continuing to pare equity exposure while importers and corporate firms stepping up hedging in anticipation of further depreciation.

Exporters, meanwhile, slowed dollar sales in the forward market, reducing supply and exacerbating pressure on the currency.

Regular intervention by the Reserve Bank of India has helped slow losses, though it has failed to reverse the underlying trend.

The central bank stepped in significantly on at least two occasions this week, bankers said, selling dollars in the spot market and conducting buy/sell swaps to manage liquidity.

Indian equities have been under pressure amid sustained foreign selling, making it difficult for the RBI to rein in the rupee's decline. The Nifty 50 index slumped 2.5% this week, while foreign outflows from Indian equities in January hit about $3.5 billion.