Rupee up by four paise to 48.77/79 against dollar

The Indian rupee on Thursday went up by nearly four paise to close at more than a two-week high of 48.77/79 against the US currency on stray dollar buying and a weak dollar overseas despite sluggish equity markets amid sustained capital outflows.
    
At the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit resumed lower at 48.88/90 from the previous close of 48.81/82 on expectations of dollar buying.

However, the expectations did not materialise and the rupee recovered smartly to 48.73 before concluding the day at 48.77/79. It had ended at 48.70./71 a dollar on January 19, 2009. Continued capital outflows and weaknesses in equity markets could not stem the rise in the rupee but put pressure on it.
    
The Indian benchmark Sensex on Thursday dropped by nearly 111 points or 1.21 per cent on bearish global cues. Except Hong Kong, most of the other Asian indices closed with losses on Thursday. European markets also resumed lower.
    
The dollar was up against the euro and British pound as markets awaited interest rate decisions in Europe. Both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are due to decide on interest rates later on Thursday.
    
Meanwhile, global crude oil prices were trading above USD 40 a barrel in Asian trade on Thursday.