Rupee falls 5 paise to 88.21 against U.S. dollar in early trade

The rupee witnessed range-bound trading in morning deals on Monday (September 22, 2025) and depreciated 5 paise to 88.21 against the U.S. dollar, as the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a negative trend in domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments.

Forex traders said the recent hike in H-1B visa fees to $100,000 per year could trigger a sensitivity move in the IT sector, as companies may face margin pressure and reduced remittances due to the potential slowdown in employee deployments to the U.S..

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 88.20, then lost ground and touched 88.21 against the U.S. dollar, registering a decline of 5 paise over its previous close.

On Friday (September 19, 2025), the rupee appreciated 4 paise to close at 88.16 against the U.S. dollar.

On the H-1B visa fees hike, CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said, beyond the sectoral impact, India’s overall services exports could also take a hit if overseas deployments are curtailed, thereby affecting the country’s external balances.

“This policy shock is likely to weigh on investor sentiment, contribute to equity outflows from the Indian IT sector in the near term, and could also exert pressure on the Indian rupee,” Mr. Pabari added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.13% to 97.77.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.66% higher at $67.12 per barrel in futures trade.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Sunday (September 21, 2025) that the GST reforms kicking in from Monday (September 22, 2025) will accelerate India’s growth story, “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, and provide a boost to ‘swadeshi’ products to the country’s prosperity.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex dropped 475.16 points to 82,151.07 in opening trade, while the Nifty declined 88.95 points to 25,238.10.

Foreign Institutional Investors bought equities worth ₹390.74 crore on a net basis on Friday (September 19, 2025), according to exchange data.

India’s forex reserves jumped $4.698 billion to $702.966 billion for the week ended September 12, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday (September 19, 2025).

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased $4.038 billion to $698.268 billion.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead an official delegation to the U.S. for trade talks on September 22.

The delegation plans to hold talks with the U.S. team to take forward discussions with a view to achieving an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement.

The minister will visit New York and will be accompanied by the special secretary in the ministry, Rajesh Agrawal, and other officials.