Rupee: Early Gains Lost in Afternoon Trade
The rupee lost most early gains in afternoon trade on Tuesday as local equities turned negative and dollar demand from importers, most likely oil refiners, picked up.
* At 2:57 p.m. (0927 GMT), the rupee was at 49.00/49.01 to the dollar, after rising to 48.8150 earlier. It closed at 49.05/06 on Monday, ending a four-day winning streak, after touching 48.60, its strongest since September 21.
* The government's advance estimate of gross domestic product growth in 2011/12 at 6.9 percent did not have any significant impact on the currency as the number was broadly in line with market estimates.
* The BSE Sensex .BSESN was down 0.44 percent on profit taking.
* Developments in the Greece bailout saga would be eyed for future cues on risk appetite and global growth trajectory.
* Greece's prime minister and the leaders of the major political parties are set to resume talks today on new austerity measures demanded by the EU in return for a second bail-out. The deal needs to be approved by February 15 if the money is to be available in time to meet a March 20 bond redemption.
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