MUMBAI: The Indian rupee declined to its weakest closing level on record on Monday but avoided sharper losses as likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) blunted the pressure from weakness in regional peers and persistent dollar outflows.

The rupee closed at 84.0725 against the US dollar, a tad lower than its close at 84.0650 in the previous session.

Foreign banks were spotted bidding for dollars, likely on behalf of custodial clients, a trader at a private bank said.

But “pretty consistent” dollar offers from state-run banks helped limit weakness in the local currency, the trader said.

Foreign investors have pulled out more than $9 billion from local stocks so far this month on a net basis, surpassing the previous peak of $8.35 billion in March 2020.

Benchmark Indian equity indices ended the day slightly in the red and are down about 4% each over October so far.