The rupee on Tuesday closed a shade below the psychological 79 mark to the dollar as it continued to be dragged down by capital outflows and rising crude oil prices.

At the inter-bank forex market, the local unit ended at a record low of 78.97, a fall of 20 paise over its last close of 78.77 against the greenback.

In intra-day trade, the rupee fell to an all time intra-day low of 78.98.

Forex circles said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was seen intervening in the markets in an apparent bid to prevent the currency from falling below the 79 levels.

Given the headwinds against the rupee, experts feel the unit is set to depreciate further.

Some analysts said the rupee will hit the 80-mark in this fiscal, but others are more pessimistic — with the currency projected to touch 81 to the dollar. So far in this calendar year, the rupee has fallen around 6 per cent.

The rupee has come under pressure on account of persistent outflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in both equities and bonds since the beginning of 2022 and rising crude oil prices.

The pressure on the currency came as stocks ended a four-day winning run with the benchmark Sensex falling over 150 points as investors resorted to profit booking in IT, FMCG and banking shares amid weak global trends. The benchmark indices were volatile, with the Sensex oscillating over 632 points during the day.