The Indian rupee dropped sharply by 34 paise to 41.69/70 against the US dollar today on sustained and heavy dollar buying by oil refiners amid inadequate supplies.
Weak equity markets and absence of dollar sales from exporters also weighed on the rupee sentiment, an Economic Times report said.
The Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market continued to witness active trade with the local currency moving widely between 41.58 and 41.75 in the initial 30 minutes of session.
It resumed sharply lower at 41.59/60 a dollar from its last close of 41.35/36 a dollar.
The rupee touched the lowest intra-day level of 41.75 after August 17, 2008 when it hit a low of 41.71 against the greenback. It had closed at 41.76/77 a dollar on April 20, 2008.