MUMBAI: The rupee slumped to a record low on Wednesday, breaching the key psychological level of 60 to the dollar, on the back of end-of-month dollar demand from domestic importers and falls in most emerging Asian currencies.The slump came even after the Reserve Bank of India made an attempt to defend the currency before the rupee hit the 60 level.The rupee was trading at 60.26/27 to the dollar at 0942 GMT, having hit a record low of 60.34. The currency closed Tuesday at 59.67/68.The falls in the rupee led to a slump in bond prices, with the 10-year bond yield up 4 basis points to 7.54 percent from the previous close.Commenting on the decline, Jeremy Cook of WorldFirst told ET Now that the problems in Indian economy are pushing the rupee down at the moment. " RBI 's hands are tied in terms of rate cuts, rupee can hit 62.5/63 per dollar," he said. "Emerging markets currencies across the board may be hit," he added.In the morning, rupee fell by 23 paise to 59.89 against the US currency on month-end dollar demand from importers, coupled with firm global cues.Persistent capital outflows from foreign funds also affected the rupee value against the dollar, forex dealers said.The rupee resumed lower at 59.74 per dollar as against the last closing level of 59.66 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and dropped further to 59.89 per dollar at 1040hrs.It hovered in a range of 59.72-59.90 a dollar during the morning deals.In the global market, the US dollar gained for the sixth day of gains today supported by data underscoring the Federal Reserve's view of an improving economy and a likely slowdown in monetary stimulus.Rupee has witnessed sharp depreciation in the past two-months, it has fallen 11% since May, spooking equity markets. Concerns over external debt have also become exacerbated due to the decline in currency.