Mumbai, March 13 The rupee fell by 12 paise to a record low of 92.37 against the US dollar in early trading on Friday, as global crude oil prices showed no signs of easing amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
A stronger dollar, heavy selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs), and weak sentiment in the domestic equity markets further weighed on the rupee, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 92.33 and further slipped to hit its record intra-day low of 92.37 against the US dollar, down 12 paise from its previous close.
The rupee touched a fresh intra-day low of 92.36 on Thursday and closed the session 24 paise lower at its lowest level of 92.25 against the US dollar.
"Oil prices remained elevated after Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed permanently until the crisis is resolved. The dollar index also rose, and all European and Asian currencies fell against the dollar," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
He added that the rupee could have reached levels of 93.00 without intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The dollar index, which gauges the strength of the dollar against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 99.77.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 4.99 per cent at USD 96.57 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex plunged by 560.06 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 75,474.36, while the Nifty fell by 184.45 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 23,454.70.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 7,049.87 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, retail inflation rose to 3.21 per cent in February compared to 2.74 per cent in the previous month, driven mainly by higher food prices, according to government data released on Thursday.