By Asia Samachar | India |
The Indian rupee is enduring one of its toughest years in recent memory, slipping sharply against key regional and global currencies such as the Malaysian ringgit, Singapore dollar (SGD) and Australian dollar.
The rupee has emerged as Asia’s worst-performing currency of 2025, putting it on course for its steepest annual decline since 2022.
That earlier downturn coincided with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent global crude oil prices soaring above US$100 per barrel and hit India particularly hard, given that the country imports roughly 90% of its oil needs.
Today, India’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate for the first time in six months after inflation slid to an all-time low, giving the economy a further boost in the face of high US tariffs.
The Reserve Bank of India’s six-member monetary policy committee, led by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, voted unanimously to cut the repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 5.25% on Friday. The rupee held onto gains after the rate announcement, and rose 0.2% to 89.7750 against the dollar, Bloomberg reported.
“Despite an unfavorable and challenging external environment, the Indian economy has shown remarkable resilience,” the governor said, reported the news agency. “The headroom provided by the inflation outlook has allowed us to remain growth supportive.”
This year’s pressures on the Indian currency stem from a different mix of challenges. Unlike 2022, when external commodity shocks drove the slump, the 2025 weakness is largely tied to higher US tariffs on Indian exports.
Against the Malaysian ringgit, the rupee has softened considerably. RM1 now fetches ₹21.83, a considerable increase from ₹17.11 in November 2022. Over recent years, this relationship has steadily shifted as the rupee weakened and the ringgit held comparatively firmer amid steadier capital inflows.
Versus the Singapore dollar, the contrast is even starker. The SGD to INR rate is hovering near 69–70 rupees per SGD. It was hovering at lows of ₹53.90 in March 2021. This reflects not just rupee weakness but the SGD’s relative resilience driven by Singapore’s prudent monetary policy and external surpluses.
Against the Australian dollar, data shows persistent divergence too. One Aussie dollar now converts to ₹59.52, up from ₹51.60 in April.
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