Mumbai

The Indian rupee plunged by 60 paise to hit a fresh intra-day record low of 93.49 against the US dollar on Friday, pressured by a stronger greenback and persistent outflows by foreign institutional investors amid tensions in West Asia.

Currency traders noted that rising global crude oil prices further weakened the domestic unit, with concerns that oil could surge to as high as USD 180 per barrel dampening market sentiment. Gains in the domestic equity markets offered little support to the rupee’s decline.

In early trading at the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.92 against the dollar and soon slipped past the 93 mark for the first time, continuing its downward trend to trade at 93.49, down 60 paise from its previous close.

The currency had earlier settled at its previous all-time low of 92.89 against the US dollar on Wednesday, after falling 49 paise. Forex markets remained shut on Thursday on account of Gudi Padwa.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the US dollar’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.17 per cent to 99.40.

Global benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.79 per cent lower at USD 107.8 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic front, equity markets showed recovery, with the Sensex climbing 442.88 points to 74,650.12 and the Nifty advancing 146.65 points to 23,148.80.

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Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 7,558.19 crore on a net basis on Thursday.