INR Crumbles to Record Low: USD/INR Smashes 91.85 Barrier on Heavy Selling Pressure

As outflows pick up speed, the rupee falls to a new all-time low.

USD/INR jumped to a new all-time high of about 91.85 on January 21, 2026, before stabilizing at roughly 91.70, therefore recording a considerable daily increase of 0.64–0.73%. This is the sixth straight depreciating session for the Indian rupee, prolonging its relentless drop under constant foreign institutional investor (FII) exits. While restrained foreign direct investment and debt inflows have not offered any significant counterbalance, cumulative FII outflows from Indian equities reached $2.7 billion in January alone and $19 billion across 2025.

Geopolitical and structural headwinds pile on.

A growing $22 billion balance-of- payments deficit (April–November 2025), ongoing importer desire for dollars, and the lack of a U.S.-India trade agreement under impending Trump-era tariff threats have isolated INR from the relative resilience seen across other Asian currencies. Combined with a 4.3% decline in Nifty50 to 25,250, increased global risk-off flows—propelled by U.S.-EU tensions (including the Greenland dispute)—have sharpened local equity selling pressure and dragged the rupee down 2.36% over the last month and 6.06% year-on-year.

Overbought and Vulnerable: RBI Watch at 92 Ahead Budget

Technical indicators flashing a warning with USD/INR deeply overbought (RSI at 73.5), indicating near-term exhaustion danger even as the pair stays strongly in an upward trajectory. Particularly as the Union Budget for FY27 approaches on February 1, market players expect RBI intervention to serve as a soft ceiling around the 92 level. In the forex market, INR is still under strong bearish pressure because of structural dollar demand, capital flight, and geopolitical instability