The rupee slumped to a record low of 77.80 against the US dollar on Thursday, as crude oil prices hit a 13-week high. Sustained foreign institutional outflows also put pressure on the rupee. However, weakness in the greenback overseas lent some support to the currency.
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The rupee began the day marginally lower at 77.75 and took its fall to seven paise from its previous close.
A sluggish session on Dalal Street also dented Indian equity benchmarks opened in red for fourth session straight. Nifty 50 was 0.3 percent or 55.1 points down at 16,301.10. BSE Sensex fell 0.2 percent or 90 points to 54,802.43.
Global crude oil prices climbed to the highest intraday levels recorded in 13 weeks on higher US demand the easing of COVID-related restrictions in parts of China.
Benchmark Brent crude futures rose as much as 0.7 percent to $124.4 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed up 0.5 percent to $122.7 a barrel.
The dollar index — which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies — edged 0.1 percent lower.
"The only ray of hope for the rupee at present remains the RBI, which has actively and aggressively participated to insulate it so far. As long as the USD-INR pair trades below 77.80, there remains hope for 77.40-77.50 levels," said Amit Pabari, Managing Director at CR Forex.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out a net Rs 13,328.4 crore from Indian shares already so far this month, according to provisional exchange data. June could be a ninth straight month of FPI outflows for Dalal Street.
