The Indian rupee retreated from a two-week low in afternoon trade on Wednesday helped by exporter dollar sales after the unit slipped beyond the 49 per dollar mark earlier in the session. * At 2:45 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 48.25/30 per dollar, off a low of 49.20 and stronger than its previous close of 48.78/81. It strengthened to 47.75 per dollar earlier on Wednesday. * Dealers said dollar demand from oil refiners which was seen in early trade had dried up, also helping the rupee. The dollar's weakness overseas also helped sentiment. * The dollar slipped against the yen and a basket of currencies in thin trade on Wednesday as investors braced for U.S. data that may add to the grim outlook for the nations economy. See [USD/]. * However, dealers added that the volume in the market was very low as most foreign banks had already closed their trading books for the year. (Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

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