The Indian rupee ended weaker for the second straight day on Tuesday on dollar demand from oil companies and other importers, in a market increasingly wary about the fate of reforms and growth prospects, dealers said.
But state-run banks, which usually act on behalf of the central bank, stepped in with dollar supplies to pull the rupee away from an early intra-day low of 46.19 per dollar, they said.
The rupee ended at 46.1100/1200 per dollar, off an intra-day high of 45.98 and weaker than the previous close of 46.0800/0900, with underlying sentiment also weighed down by high prices of global crude oil, India's biggest import item.
Thin foreign fund inflows into local markets amid rising global interest rates and doubts about India's growth prospects would keep the rupee on a weak footing in the near term, traders said.
Rupee premiums on the forward dollar rose to factor in the weaker outlook for the local currency. The six-month forward ended at an annualised 1.96 percent, up from the previous close of 1.87 percent.