* Federal budget to provide near-term direction for rupee * Rupee hits 49.79/dollar, strongest since March 5 (Updates to close) By Shamik Paul MUMBAI, March 13 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee hit a one-week high on Tuesday helped by gains in local shares and foreign fund inflows, with the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy statement eyed for clues on further monetary stimulus and the dollar's direction. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee will make its announcement at 1815 GMT. Investors will be examining its statement for signals it remains committed to stimulus even after recent indicators have suggested the economic recovery is picking up pace. The statement will impact the global risk appetite and also provide direction to the dollar, which will have an impact on the rupee, said Hari Chandramgathan, a dealer at Federal Bank. The rupee ended at 49.93/94 to the dollar, after hitting 49.79, a level last seen on March 5, Thomson Reuters data showed. The unit had closed at 49.96/97 on Monday. Traders said dollar demand from oil importers put a lid on the rupee's gains. Oil is India's largest import item and oil refiners are the largest buyers of dollars in the local market. Friday's federal budget, where New Delhi will set its target for fiscal consolidation for the next fiscal year starting in April, will also provide directional cues for the rupee. Trader's focus will be on the fiscal deficit number, which will impact foreign fund inflows into India, as a high figure would spook overseas investors. "The budget may be binary -- either reformist or populist, but more likely populist. In that case, the stock market may tank and the rupee may depreciate," a senior trader at a private bank said. The government is expected to say it plans to borrow 5.3 trillion rupees ($106.2 billion) in the fiscal year starting in April, up from a scheduled 5.1 trillion in the current year. Unexpectedly strong January industrial output numbers coupled with record high car sales in February have brightened the outlook on foreign fund inflows. Foreign funds have invested over $12.8 billion in Indian equities and debt so far this year, data from the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India showed. Traders said any sharp fall in the rupee was unlikely as the Reserve Bank of India was most likely to shore up the currency. The RBI has been actively intervening in the currency markets over the past few months to help support the rupee, which touched a record low of 54.30 on Dec. 15. The RBI said on Monday it sold a net $7.3 billion in January in the spot market, a tad lower than $7.8 billion in December. The one-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were at 50.30. In the currency futures market, the most-traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, the MCX-SX and on the United Stock Exchange all ended at around 50.15, on a total volume of $3.7 billion. (Editing by Malini Menon)

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