The Indian rupee extended losses for the fifth day Friday shedding 18 paise against the US currency due to distinctly weak equities amid increased capital outflows.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit closed at at 45.48/49, down by 18 paise.
The rupee opened sharply lower at 45.70/71 and touched a low of 45.73, a level not seen since March 5, 2010, due to sustained dollar demand from banks and importers.
However, a late dollar sell-off by exporters helped the rupee retreat from two-month low levels, dealers said.
The rupee plunged by Rs 1.125, or 2.54 per cent, in the week.
The bellwether Sensex ended lower by 218.42 points, or 1.29 per cent, weighing on the rupee sentiment.
Foreign institutional investors pulled out nearly USD 310 million from equities on May 5 and were said to be net sellers on the next day.
Meanwhile, global crude oil prices were trading below USD 78 a barrel in London Friday.
The rupee premium for the forward dollar remained weak on sustained receivings by exporters.
The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in October closed slightly lower at 55-56 paise from 56-58 paise on Thursday and far-forward maturing in April also settled
down at 108-110 paise from 110-112 paise previously.
The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs 45.58 and for the euro at Rs 57.81.
In cross currency trade, the domestic currency recovered against the pound while dropped against the euro and the Japanese yen.
The rupee rebounded sharply against the pound to Rs 66.72/74 per pound from Thursday's close of 68.33/35 while fell back against the euro to Rs 58.04/06 per euro from Rs 57.70/72 previously.
It also dipped against the yen to Rs 49.14/16 per 100 yen from its last close of Rs 48.22/24.