Rupee dips below 50-mark

MUMBAI: Rupee on Tuesday dipped below 50-mark against the greenback by turning dearer by 14 paise as dollar supply increased with banks selling the US currency.

The domestic unit gained about 30 paise at 49.70 a dollar in early trade in tune with the surge in equity markets and anticipation of portfolio investments.

Dealers in foreign exchange said attributed the early gains to banks' selling dollars. They also said a rise in Asian markets has fuelled anticipation of portfolio investments which weighed in favour of the domestic currency.

The opening quote for the rupee was 49.80 a dollar, a dealer with public sector bank said.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the rupee moved in a range between 49.70 and 50.12 during the day.

It had closed at 50.09/10 a dollar yesterday. The rupee has been under pressure ever since foreign institutional investors began pulling out funds from equity markets since the beginning of 2008 after emergence of US mortgage problems.

The current calendar year so far has registered capital outflow of more than USD 13 billion. They had pumped in a record $ 17 billion during last calendar year.