The rupee on Monday crashed to an all-time low of 80.15 against the dollar during intra-day trades but staged a comeback on repeated intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the spot markets.

The RBI’s dollar selling led to the domestic unit to recover past the 80 mark and end the day with only a small loss of 9 paise at 79.96 against the previous close of 79.87 to the dollar.

Experts are of the view that the currency could again breach the 80 levels because of global factors, though they are quick to add that investments by FPIs and RBI action will hold the key.

Forex circles said that the rupee opened below the 80 mark at 80.08 because of tailwinds in favour of the dollar which came after the comments made by Fed chair Jerome Powell last Friday on inflation and interest rates.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, hit a day’s high of 109.48 against the previous finish of 108.80.

It was trading at 108.70 levels at the time of writing this report.

“Though there is some recovery, the direction for the rupee remains bearish and we expect 80.50 to 80.80 in the coming days while on the downside 79.65 will act as shortterm support,’’ Dilip Parmar, research analyst, HDFC Securities, said.

Oil above $100 Oil rose more than 1 per cent on Monday, extending last week’s gain, as potential Opec+ output cuts and conflict in Libya helped to offset a strong US dollar and a dire outlook for US growth.

Saudi Arabia last week raised the possibility of production cuts, which sources said could coincide with a boost in supply from Iran should it clinch a nuclear deal with the West.

Brent crude was up $3.16, or 3.1 per cent, at $104.15 a barrel by 1633 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $3.16, or 3.4 per cent, to $96.22.

With inputs from Reuters