The rupee climbed 9 paise to end at 74.12 per dollar on Thursday after tumbling to a fresh lifetime low in intra-day trade amid a sharp sell-off in global markets.

 At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex), the rupee opened lower at 74.37 and lost further ground to hit a record intra-day low of 74.50 against the US dollar on strong demand for the American currency from importers amid unabated foreign fund outflows.

 However, the rupee clawed back lost ground and finally settled for the day at 74.12, up by 9 paise, posting a gain for the second consecutive day in an otherwise volatile market.

 On Wednesday, the rupee rose by 18 paise to 74.21.