The Indian rupee weakened to an all-time low on Friday, hurt by persistently strong dollar demand in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market, while likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) capped the currency's losses.

According to analysts, the Reserve Bank's stance to hold on to its dollar payments in short-term forward contracts added to the shortage of greenback, with importers rushing to meet their month-end payment obligations.

The Indian rupee fell to an all-time low on Friday, as maturing non-deliverable forwards and currency futures boosted dollar demand, while the sharp fall led to panic dollar buying by importers.