The rupee dropped to 79.9125 per U.S. dollar, lowest level since July 27, compared with 79.7750 in the previous session.

**Euro falls to as low as 0.9988 to the dollar, weighed down by concern that a three-day halt to European gas supplies later this month will exacerbate an energy crisis.

**Offshore Chinese yuan slipped to a two-year of 6.8621 to the dollar after the country's central bank cut key lending rates.

**Selloff in Indian shares adds to rupee's woes. The BSE Sensex down 1.2%. U.S. equity futures slip 1.1%.

**U.S. interest rate outlook concerns sap risk appetite. Odds of 75 basis points rate hike by Federal Reserve climb to almost 50%.

** Considering the extent of bad news, it is surprising that the rupee is still holding on the stronger side of 80, a currency trader at a private bank said.

**"It is quite clear that the markets still sees 80 as a level that the RBI will want to defend."

(Reporting by Nimesh Vora; Editing by Neha Arora)