Mumbai, March 20 The rupee fell by 19 paise to its record intra-day low of 93.08 against the US dollar in early trading on Friday, as the US dollar further strengthened and FII outflows continued unabated amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
Elevated global crude oil prices put further pressure on the local unit, while a positive opening in the domestic equity markets cushioned against a sharper fall, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 92.92 against the greenback before breaching the 93-mark for the first time, trading at 93.08, down 19 paise from its previous close.
The rupee slumped by 49 paise to close at a record low of 92.89 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
Forex markets were closed on Thursday due to Gudhi Padwa. "The rupee looks vulnerable as the RBI is the only one protecting it from further fall by selling dollars," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
"FPIs were net sellers on Thursday when the Sensex and Nifty fell to a 21-month low," he added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the strength of the US dollar against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 100.25, up 0.17 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading at USD 106.9 per barrel in futures trade, down 1.64 per cent.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex rebounded from Thursday's crash, surging by 960.67 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 75,167.91, while Nifty was up by 311.50 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 23,313.65.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 7,558.19 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.