The rupee fell past 48 per dollar to its lowest in nearly two weeks on Thursday as the U.S. unit gained against other major currencies while dollar demand from importers to make month-end payments also weighed.
* At 9:12 a.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 48.08/09 per dollar, its weakest since May 18 and well below Wednesday's close of 47.70/71.
* The dollar held steady against the euro on Thursday, having pulled up from five-month lows hit against the euro last week due to short-covering. The dollar index, a gauge of the U.S. unit's performance versus six majors, was up 0.2 percent.
* Dealers said month-end dollar demand from oil refiners could pick up momentum later in the day and push the rupee further lower.
* Regional sharemarkets were in the red at 0342 GMT. The MSCI index of stocks outside Japan was down 1 percent. Nifty stock futures traded in Singapore were down 0.4 percent, suggesting a weak start for domestic shares, another worry for currency traders.
