But ends 3 paise up at 88.09/USD

PTI mumbai

The rupee touched its lowest level but pared all losses before ending 3 paise higher at Rs 88.09 against the US dollar on Friday amid sustained outflow of foreign funds and renewed concern over additional US tariffs on Indian IT sector exports. A weak greenback and falling crude oil prices failed to prevent the fall in the local unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 88.11 against the US dollar and touched the lowest-ever intra-day level of 88.38 before ending the session at 88.09 against the greenback, up 3 paise from its previous close.

"The rupee fell to its record low on rumour of the Trump administration imposing tariffs on the Indian IT sector, taking shares down and USD/INR pair up. However, as news agencies denied the rumour, the rupee recovered slightly though the dollar was still well bid at 87.25 levels," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

"The markets anticipated that the RBI had strongly intervened to keep the rupee up. The rupee has suffered following US President Trump's tariff announcements, and has not been able to recover despite a fall in the US dollar index with FPIs remaining constant sellers of the currency and equity markets," he said.