The Indian rupee plunged past 87.7 per USD in August, the weakest since the record low of 88 from late February amid the worsening trade outlook with the US and a dovish RBI. US President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on India from the start of the month as the country refrained from reaching a deal with US counterparts. Further, Trump threatened to increase levies on selected industries should India not halt the buying and re-exporting of Russian energy goods, driving Prime Minister Modi to push back and state that Indian business buy the most favorable inputs in an uncertain economic backdrop. On the monetary policy front, consumer inflation feel to a six-year low of 2.1%, well below market expectations, to test the lower bound of the RBI's inflation tolerance band of 2%. Consequently, markets expect the RBI to continue reducing its benchmark policy rate this year.