Rupee crashes to record low, breaches 94/$ mark

Mumbai: The rupee breached the 94/dollar barrier for the first time, slumping 50 paise to a new record closing low of 94.03 (provisional) against the greenback on Monday, as spiralling global crude prices and unabated foreign fund outflows unnerved investors. A strengthening US dollar and a steep decline in the domestic equity markets further weakened the local unit, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 93.84 and kept losing ground throughout the day, before breaching the 94-mark against the US dollar for the first time to settle at 94.03 (provisional), down 50 paise from its previous close.