Mumbai, Sep 10 (PTI) The rupee on Monday slumped to a fresh record low of 72.18 by falling 45 paise against the US dollar on strong demand for the US currency from importers as the greenback strengthened against other currencies overseas on upbeat jobs data.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency opened at record low of 72.15 a dollar from its previous close of 71.73 and slipped to hit a fresh low of 72.18, down by 45 paise. It had breached its previous record low of 72.11 hit on September 6.

Forex dealers said besides strong demand for the American currency, buying by importers, mainly oil refiners in view of surging crude oil prices and capital outflows, weighed on the domestic currency.

Furthermore, the dollar strength against its rival currencies overseas amid fears of a possible escalation in the US-China trade conflict too put pressure on the rupee, they said.

The rupee on Friday staged a turnaround to close higher by 26 paise at 71.73 after heavy intervention by the Reserve Bank of India.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex dropped by 85.01 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 38,304.81 in opening trade.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)