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.