Rupee hits record low of 78.85 against US dollar

The rupee opened at a record low of 78.85 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid weakness in domestic equities. However, weakness in the greenback overseas and easing oil prices kept losses in the rupee in check. The rupee has hit a series of record lows in the past few weeks — down more than 1.5 percent so far this month and more than six percent since January.

Global oil benchmarks fell on Wednesday, halting a three-day winning run, though tightening global supply limited the downside. Brent futures fell as much as two percent to $111.5 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures followed suit, dropping almost one percent to $110.8 a barrel.

The dollar index — which gauges strength in the greenback against six peers — edged lower to 104.1.

Indian equity indices made a gap-down start amid weakness across sectors, as a weak consumer sentiment reading from the world's largest economy stoked fears of a slowdown.

Sustained selling by foreign institutional investors continued to dent the sentiment on Dalal Street. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold Indian shares worth a net Rs 2,059.1 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The rupee had settled at 78.77 against the American currency on Tuesday.