Rupee is not weakening, says FM Sitharaman

Rupee is not weakening, says FM Sitharaman

Amid rupee hitting a lifetime low on September 5, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said rupee is not weakening.

"Rupee is volatile only against the dollar, and many countries are experiencing this. Rupee is not weakening- I have been trolled for saying this," she said in an interview to Network 18 Group Editor-In-Chief Rahul Joshi.

On September 5, rupee fell 0.14% to 88.2650 against the US dollar, from 88.1450 in the previous session.

Friday’s move ended a volatile week, during which the rupee largely stayed below the 88-mark, weighed down by persistent portfolio outflows and US tariff-related uncertainties.

The rupee, which slipped past the 88-mark for the first time last week, slipped to its record low of 88.36 on Friday.

Foreign portfolio investors have pulled out Rs 12,000 crore from Indian equities so far in September, taking the total outflow so far this year to over Rs 1.4 lakh crore, reported Reuters.

Sitharaman on September 5 also said that the central government will meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.4 percent of the GDP for FY26, while capital expenditure will be conducted as per the estimates in the Budget.

“At this point, I can say with confidence that capex of government will not come down, it will be completed as per the Budget estimated timeline. And so will the fiscal deficit, this is the last point of my gliding path, I will adhere to it,” she said.