India, Jan. 17 -- The rupee tumbled for the third straight session and lost 50 paise to settle near its lowest level at 90.84 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, amid rising crude oil prices and sustained outflow of foreign funds. Volatile global sentiment and a firm American currency accelerated the withdrawal of foreign institutional investors, even as domestic investors resorted to value buying, forex traders said.

According to traders rupee faced pressure after data released on Thursday showed India's trade deficit widened slightly to $25.04 billion in December 2025, compared to $24.53 billion in November and $22 billion in December 2024.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.37 and touched an intraday...