The rupee edged lower in early trade on Friday pulled down by losses in regional stock markets,but a weak dollar overseas and caution over possible Reserve Bank of Indias intervention prevented a sharp fall.
At 9:05 a.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 51.85/87 per dollar,weaker than its pervious close of 51.76/78. On Tuesday,the rupee had hit a record low of 52.20.
Asian share markets were lower in early trade. At 0335 GMT the Hang Seng was down 1.1 per cent,the Nikkei was down nearly 3 per cent,Kospi shed 0.9 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.4 per cent.
The Singapore Nifty was trading down more than 1 per cent,indicating a lower start in the domestic market.
The dollar slipped against the euro and most other major currencies on Friday as investors braced for a US jobs report,trimming gains made the previous day on its perceived safety after US shares fell.
Asian currencies were mostly higher against the dollar.