Mumbai: The domestic currency on Monday closed 10 paise below 80 per Dollar after hitting an intra-day all-time high of 80.15. The recovery came as the RBI defended the Indian currency even as the dollar soared to a new two-decade high.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 80.10 and fell to its all-time low of 80.15 against the US dollar in intra-day trade. The local unit finally settled at 79.94 a dollar, down 10 paise over its previous close of 79.84.

The Rupee on July 20th for the first time closed below the 80 mark at 80.05 against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.28 per cent higher at 109.10, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell adopted a hawkish tone to battle inflation. The dollar index climbed to its highest level in 20 years boosted by higher short-term US yields and risk aversion.