Karachi - The Pakistan rupee on Wednesday plunged to a new record low of 77.66 against the US dollar amid rising tension with the United States over military operations inside Pakistani territory, traders said.

The rupee finally closed at 77.40 to a dollar in the open market but traders said it would slump to 78 by Friday as worsening relations with the US, the biggest donor, could cloud prospects of Pakistan receiving urgent financial aid from multilateral agencies to boost fledging foreign currency reserves.

In the inter-bank market, the rupee was trading at record low of 77.20-30 against the dollar as compared with Tuesday's 76.80-60.

Pakistan desperately seeks international support to boost its reserves, which are down by around 6 billion dollars in the last six months due to high costs of imported oil and commodities with almost stagnant exports.

Traders say the current row with the US over its ground and aerial attacks against Islamic militants in the north-western tribal regions might delay Pakistan's chances of getting the aid from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The country's current reserves with the central State Bank of Pakistan are barely enough to cover two months of imports.

On Tuesday, the ADB reduced Pakistan's annual growth expectations to 4.5 per cent. But analysts doubt whether even this was achievable, considering severe water and power shortages which are crippling the country's agricultural and industrial sectors.

The rupee has so far lost over 20 per cent since January. (dpa)