The rupee went into a tailspin by plunging 56 paise today, the second biggest single-day fall of 2018, to end at a new 16-month low of 68.07 as panic dollar demand rattled currency market.
It has been in a virtual free fall for the Indian unit which settled a hairs breadth below its intra-day low of 68.15 a dollar.
This is the lowest closing for the rupee since January 24, 2017 when it had ended at 68.15 against the US dollar.
A slew of domestic and external factors has made the fundamentals unfavourable for the rupee - including a massive trade balance deficit and a declining level of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Overall forex market has been hampered on the heels of the boiling global crude prices - its highest advances since 2014 is squeezing the carry-trade returns on the rupee to a point where they are the worst in Asia.
Crude prices hit a 3-year high supported by tight supply and planned US sanctions against Iran that are likely to restrict crude oil exports from one of the biggest producers in the Middle East