The Indian rupee weakened in opening trade on Thursday to hit record lows against the greenback for a fourth straight session after data showed US inflation, already at four-decade highs, accelerated even further.

The dollar resumed its relentless rise, driven by both expectations for faster policy tightening by the Federal Reserve and safe-haven flows as fears grow for a recession.

The partially convertible rupee was trading at 79.75/76 per dollar by 0338 GMT, compared to its close of 79.63 on Wednesday. The unit touched a life low of 79.77.

Traders expect dollar selling intervention by the central bank to slow the slide in the rupee but expect it to touch levels of 80 to the dollar in the near future.