Mumbai: After a sturdy hold in the previous exchange, the Rupee on Wednesday fell to a touch below 80 per dollar after briefly hitting that level as the US Dollar hit a new two-decade high. On Tuesday, the Rupee had closed at 79.74 with a rise by 7 paise

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened at 79.81 per dollar. It hovered in a range of 79.79 to 80.00 during the session. The rupee finally settled at 80.00, down 26 paise over its previous close.

The crash in the Rupee coincided with a dollar surge to a 20-year high as markets were alarmed by Vladimir Putin’s remarks in addition to expectations the US Fed prepared to raise interest rates again swiftly.

Meanwhile, the yellow metal rose by Rs 152 to Rs 49,871 per 10 grams amid a rise in international precious metal prices as the Indian currency depreciated. In the previous trade gold had closed at Rs 49,719 per 10grams.

Silver continued to gain by Rs 333 closing at Rs 57,046 per kg from 57,073 per kg in the previous trade.