The rupee fell 11 paise to a new low of 78.96 against opening trade on Wednesday, which was weighed down by persistent foreign capital outflows.
The rupee opened at 78.86 against the American dollar on a weak note at the interbank foreign exchange, then lost ground to quote at 78.96 -- its all-time low level, registering a fall of 11 paise from the last close.
On Tuesday, the rupee fell by 48 paise to close at a record low of 78.85 against the dollar, as renewed focus on the weak outlook has resulted in losses on Asian currencies and shares, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.
Iyer said that the range for the rupee on Wednesday could be 78.50 -- 79.10 based on the Reserve Bank of India RBI could curb volatility, but the strength of crude oil could cap appreciation bias.
The rupee has lost 1.87 per cent so far this month and has eroded a staggering 6.28 per cent since the beginning of the year.
The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.88 per cent to USD 116.94 per barrel.
The dollar index, which gauges the strength of the dollar against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent lower at 104.42.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex had 474.05 points or 0.89 per cent less than 52,703. The broader NSE Nifty declined by 137.75 points or 0.87 per cent to 15,712. Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth 1,244 on Tuesday, which was net sellers in the capital market. According to stock exchange data, 44 crore were reported to be in 44 crore.