Rupee falls 15 paise to close at 88.31 against U.S. dollar

The rupee depreciated 15 paise to close at 88.31 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Monday (September 22, 2025), as investors weighed President Donald Trump’s H-1B visa fee hike impact on Indian remittances amid heightened risk-averse sentiment.

Forex traders said the recent hike in H-1B visa fees could contribute to equity outflows from the Indian IT sector in the near term, and could also exert pressure on the Indian rupee.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.20, then touched an intra-day low of 88.34 and a high of 88.12 against the greenback. The domestic unit finally settled at 88.31 (provisional), lower by 15 paise over its previous close.

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

“We expect the rupee to remain weak as the U.S. visa fee hike may dent market sentiments, which may weigh on the domestic currency.

“Risk aversion in domestic markets may also pressure the rupee. However, overall weakness in crude oil prices may support the rupee at lower levels. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 88.05 to 88.60,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Currency and Commodities, Mirae Asset ShareKhan.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.12% to 97.52.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.21% lower at $66.54 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tanked 466.26 points to settle at 82,159.97, while Nifty dropped 124.70 points to 25,202.35.

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth ₹390.74 crore on a net basis on Friday, 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 (RBI) said on Friday.

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

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is leading an official delegation to the U.S. for trade talks.

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, accompanied by the special secretary in the ministry, Rajesh Agrawal, and other officials.