MUMBAIIndia's rupee hit an all-time low against the dollar for the fifth successive trading day on Tuesday amid concern about slowing domestic growth and continuing global uncertainty.
The partially-convertible Indian unit fell to 55.47, below its previous record low of 55.05 a day earlier, as the demand for the US currency grew.
It ended at a record closing low of 55.34 to the dollar.
The rupee opened Tuesday slightly higher on improved global risk appetite, but steady dollar buying pushed the Indian currency down.
Concerns over the eurozone debt crisis persist and several domestic problems including India's widening trade and current account deficits and declining foreign fund inflows, keep the rupee depressed, analysts said.
There has also been pressure from oil importers, who exchange rupees for dollars when they buy crude for energy-scarce India, which imports four-fifths of its crude oil needs.
"The pace at which damage is taking place is fast. The rupee is not a favoured currency at this stage," said Siddhartha Sanyal, chief India economist with Barclays Capital.
"There are no market forces which can immediately turn the tide in favour of the rupee."
Despite Tuesday's slide there was no immediate sign of fresh central bank intervention, but the bank is believed to have stepped in to prop up the currency more than a dozen times this year.
Many analysts and traders predict the rupee may fall further, to 56 or 57 level, in the coming days with risk-aversion hitting global markets and sentiment souring over India due to its gaping deficits and poor economic data.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee last week blamed the deteriorating international climate for the falls as international investors sell risky emerging market assets and retreat to safe havens.
The Indian economy is predicted to have grown 6.9 percent in the last fiscal year to March -- the slowest pace since the 2008 global financial crisis.
The rupee was Asia's worst performing currency in 2011, losing more than 20 percent of its value against the dollar compared to the previous year.
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