By SUDEEP JAIN MUMBAI -- The Indian rupee tumbled to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar Tuesday as importers continued to accumulate the greenback on fears that the local currency would weaken further in the absence of any aggressive central bank intervention. The dollar was at 52.62 rupees at 0600 GMT after rising to 52.72 rupees earlier in the session, compared with its previous record high of 52.1950 rupees, set on March 3, 2009. The Indian rupee has been Asia's worst-performing currency in 2011, weakening more than 17% against the dollar. A wave of risk aversion sparked by the crisis in Europe has unnerved investors concerned also about India's high inflation, slowing economic growth and fiscal deficit. The rupee's recent slide has increased the clamor for action from the Reserve Bank of India to sell dollars and bolster the local currency. However, market participants said the RBI has so far stuck to its stated policy of intervening in the forex markets only to curb exchange-rate volatility. "Very clearly, they haven't been protecting a level," said Anindya Das Gupta, managing director at Barclays Capital. Subir Gokarn, a deputy governor of the central bank, said the RBI doesn't have a target for the rupee, but views its sharp depreciation as a problem and is considering all possible actions. "Any action we take now, if any, has to take into account the fact that these actions might have consequences a little further down the road," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Mumbai. "So, we got to balance out actions now with risks or a potential increase in vulnerability later on." Some analysts attribute the rupee's underperformance compared with other emerging market currencies to India's widening current-account deficit, arising from a gaping trade deficit. The current-account deficit in the April-June period more than doubled from the previous quarter to $14.1 billion due to a sharp decline in investments and a moderation in services exports. India finances its current account deficit through a capital account surplus. Capital inflows have slowed sharply due to foreign investors' dwindling risk appetite as the problems in the euro zone persisted and India grappled with high inflation and slowing economic growth. Foreign funds have bought a net $4.48 billion worth of debt and equity in India's capital markets in 2011 so far, compared with $39.06 billion invested over the same period last year. The dollar was quoting at 52.48 rupees at 0339 GMT, compared with its previous record low of 52.1950 rupees on March 3, 2009. The Indian rupee has of late been Asia's worst-performing currency, weakening 17% against the dollar since April. A wave of risk aversion sparked by the crisis in Europe has unnerved investors concerned also about India's high inflation, slowing economic growth and gaping fiscal deficit.

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