INR falls 51 paise to all-time low of 88.79/USD

RUPEE on Tuesday tumbled 0.52% to all-time low of 88.7925 against the greenback amid foreign fund outflow on fear that double-whammy blows of steep US tariffs and an increase in the H-1B visa fees would disrupt services exports apart from crimping remittances.

- BENN KOCHUVEEDAN @ Mumbai

The previous low was 88.47 on September 11. Traders are expecting pressure on the local currency to continue and a level under 90 is not very far. Rupee opened the day down 13 paise but soon lost ground, touching an all-time intraday low of 88.82 against dollar, and settling for the day at 88.7925.

Forex traders say rupee fell to record low as they see likely repercussions of the new $100,000 H-1B visa levy that may precipitate a slowdown in remittances growth and curtail service exports to the US, which is the largest revenue market for domestic IT firms netting more than 60% of their revenue.