MUMBAI: Rupee ended marginally lower on Thursday, as a jump in global oil prices raised dollar demand from crude refiners, but gains in local
shares helped the local unit recover from one-week lows.
The partially convertible Rupee ended at 48.76/78 per dollar, off an intraday trough of 48.845, its lowest since Dec 25, according to Reuters data, but slightly weaker than Wednesday's close of 48.70/72.
"The fall was mostly oil driven," a trader with a state-run bank said, adding refiners snapped up dollars through the day. Oil, India's biggest import, traded above $43 a barrel, having risen from 2008's low of $32.40, touched on Dec 19, on concerns of tightening global fuel supplies.
But gains in local equities improved sentiment for the Rupee, helping it recover some ground towards the close of trade.
Indian shares kicked off the new year on a positive note, rising 2.7 per cent on Thursday.
Foreign funds withdrew $13.3 billion from the stock market in 2008, a key factor in the rupee's steepest yearly fall since a balance of payments crisis in the early 1990s.
India's current account deficit swelled to a record $12.54 billion in the September quarter and analysts warned on Wednesday it could balloon further as the world economy slows, putting pressure on the Rupee.
