The rupee ended little changed on Wednesday, a day after the central bank raised interest rates, as local companies bought dollars to meet month-end payments, offsetting early gains made on the euro's bounce overseas.
The partially convertible rupee closed at 45.0625/0700 per dollar, well off the morning's one-week high of 44.93 and barely moved from Tuesday's 45.065/075 close.
"The rupee followed the euro up in the morning but once the euro started coming off a bit against the dollar and the month-end demand (for dollars) also came in, we saw it come off," a trader at a state-run bank said.
Traders said more follow-through month-end dollar buying by Indian companies preparing to meet routine import- and overseas debt-related payments could combine with concerns about foreign fund outflows to drag the rupee lower on Wednesday.
Portfolio investors, who had pumped $8.5 billion into local stocks in the first nine months this year, have turned net sellers in October, pulling out half-a-billion dollars.
The capital outflows have, along with a widening trade deficit, dragged the rupee 2.33 percent lower this month.
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