Last Updated:September 05, 2025, 13:28 IST

The rupee fell to 88.36 against the U.S. dollar, eclipsing its previous all-time low of 88.33 hit on September 1

Rupee depreciates against dollar.

The Indian rupee slipped to a record low on Friday as traders remained jittery over news related to U.S. tariffs on India, while likely dollar-selling intervention by the Reserve Bank of India curbed sharper losses, traders said.

The rupee fell to 88.36 against the U.S. dollar, eclipsing its previous all-time low of 88.33 hit on September 1. The currency was last at 88.2750, down 0.1% on the day.

Traders cited strong buying from foreign banks amid speculation about ongoing tariff pressures on India from the U.S.

The “spike on USD/INR was caused by worries of higher tariffs on India but state-run banks stepped in over 88.30 to cap losses, most likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India,” a senior trader at a bank said.

Merchant flows are relatively muted today so activity is skewed towards the dollar buying side, the trader added.

MUFG said the rupee could weaken to 89 by the first quarter of calendar year 2026 under the assumption that the steep tariffs remain for now but are eventually lowered to 25% sometime next year.

Foreign portfolio investors have continued to withdraw from Indian equities with net sales of $1.4 billion so far in September, taking the total outflow so far this year to over $16 billion.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)

Aparna Deb

Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a…Read More

Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a… Read More

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Sunny weather and the women’s Euro football tournament helped to lift retail sales in July, according to the latest official figures.

Retail sales volumes rose by 0.6% in July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which was higher than analysts’ forecasts.

The release of the figures had been delayed by two weeks over concerns about the quality of the data.

The ONS has come under fire recently over the reliability of some of its statistics.

While sales volumes in July rose, sales in the three months to July were down 0.6% when compared with the previous three months.

“Supermarkets, sports shops and household goods stores had a strong start to the year, but spending there has fallen since March,” said the ONS’s director general of economic statistics, James Benford.

However, he added this was partially offset by strong sales online and at clothing and footwear stores.

Mr Benford apologised for errors in past data, and said the ONS had “improvement plans” in place.

The ONS had delayed the latest retail sales figures after it discovered a problem with its data, which meant that seasonal adjustments had not been made properly.

The latest release from the ONS revises most of the retail sales data for the past year.

“The new figures published today show a similar overall pattern of three-month on three-month growth, but with less volatile month-on-month changes,” Mr Benford said.

ONS statistics are used in deciding government policy which affects millions, and are used by the Bank of England to make key financial decisions.

The ONS said online retailers and clothing stores saw strong sales growth in July, which retailers put down to new products, the hot weather, and an increase resulting from the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 tournament.

However, Paul Dales from Capital Economics warned that both these factors were boosts that “won’t be repeated”.

Dr Kris Hamer from the British Retail Consortium said July was a “good month for retail sales, as the warm, sunny weather and packed sporting schedule in the first half of the month got people spending”.

“Unfortunately, this level of sales growth makes little dent on the £7bn of new costs that retailers are having to shoulder following last year’s Budget.”

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that cuts tariffs on Japanese car imports from 27.5% to 15%, easing uncertainty for motor industry giants like Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

It formalises an agreement, which was announced in July, to apply a 15% levy to almost all Japanese exports to the US – including vehicles and pharmaceuticals.

Tokyo has also agreed to invest $550bn (£410bn) in US projects, and gradually open its economy to American goods, including cars and rice, the White House said.

The deal came after months of negotiations between the US and Japan in the wake of Trump announcing sweeping tariffs on most countries around the world in April.

“Finally,” Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said in Japanese as he reposted a White House announcement about the executive order.

According to the order, the deal will help reduce America’s trade deficit with Japan and provide US businesses “breakthrough openings”.

The White House said Japan has committed to buying $8bn worth of US goods a year – including agricultural products, fertilisers and bioethanol.

It added that Tokyo has also agreed to gradually increase its purchases of US-grown rice by 75% – a concession it had previously resisted to protect its agricultural industry.

Trump hailed the agreement as “massive” when it was announced in July.

“It’s a great deal for everybody. I always say it has to be great for everybody. It’s a great deal,” he said in a news conference.

The Japanese economy is reliant on selling goods abroad, with the US as its biggest export market.

Cars account for around 20% of the country’s total exports.

Trump’s tariffs, which came into effect in August, have sent shockwaves around world as governments and businesses adapt to the changing global market.

Last month, Toyota warned that the impact of US tariffs would cost it around $10bn this year.

Shares in Japanese carmakers and parts suppliers rose on Friday in Tokyo after the executive order was signed.