The Indian rupee weakened sharply on Thursday, dropping 35 paise to touch an all-time intra-day low of 92.36 against the United States dollar.

According to forex traders, the fall in the rupee was driven by a surge in global crude oil prices overnight, which continued to rise amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Higher oil prices tend to pressure the rupee as India is a major crude importer.

A stronger US dollar, weak sentiment in domestic equity markets, and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows also added to the pressure on the local currency.

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.25 per dollar but extended losses during early trade to hit the record low of 92.36, compared with its previous close.