Why India’s Weak Rupee Has Suddenly Spiked in Value

Until mid-October, the Indian rupee was Asia’s worst-performing currency of 2025. It was heading for its biggest annual drop since 2022 — the year Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices soaring past $100 per barrel, a major blow for India, which imports about 90% of its crude.

This year, the rupee’s weakness has been fueled by higher US tariffs on Indian exports and a wave of foreign outflows from local equities. By Oct. 14, it had fallen to a near-record low of 88.8025 per dollar. Then, over just three days, the rupee rebounded more than 1% — a move traders attributed to central bank intervention.