Rupee Continues To Slide, Drops Past 80 Per Dollar Mark For The First Time Ever

After hovering around the 79 per dollar mark for the past few days, the Indian currency rupee today dropped below the crucial mark of 80 per US dollar for the first time ever, taking its year-to-date fall to about 7%.

The rupee hit a low of 80.0175 in early trade today, compared with the previous close of 79.9775 yesterday, an ET report mentioned.

Hitting a new all-time low marks the seventh straight session of record lows for the Indian rupee, as weakness in domestic shares and currencies weighed, but dollar selling intervention by the central bank helped limit further losses.

The Times of India