The Indian rupee dropped to a historic low of 88.31 per dollar on Friday, pressured by U.S. President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods that came into force this week.
The steep duties, imposed after India refused to open its farm and dairy sectors and continued buying Russian oil, are expected to erode export competitiveness and deter foreign inflows.
The Reserve Bank of India intervened to slow the slide but was less aggressive than in past episodes. The rupee, Asia’s worst-performing major currency this year, is down 3%.
Analysts warn the tariffs could shave up to one percentage point off GDP, hurting labour-intensive export sectors.