At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit resumed weak at 52.96 a dollar from previous close of 52.87 and immediately touched a high of 52.91.
Fresh dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, and also some banks put pressure on the rupee.
Selling by FIIs in stocks worth Rs 69 crore further dragged the rupee as it fell to a low of 53.43.
It concluded slightly better at 53.41, showing a fall of 54 paise of 1.02 per cent over Wednesday.
This is the weakest closing for the rupee since it closed at 53.51 on September 26. The rupee after closing at a recent high of 51.74 on October 4, appears to have lost steam and is seen hurtling towards 54-mark as FII inflows have slowed, said forex dealers.
"Rupee is not gaining strength despite the Dollar index trading below 80 levels and positive global stock markets...We also have a number of FCCB redemptions in October and November that will further add to the weakness. We see a possibility of rupee hitting 54 by month end," said Abhishek Goenka, Founder & CEO, India Forex Advisors.
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