The rupee on Wednesday tumbled for the third day today falling by 28 paise to close at fresh two-year low of 48.33/34 against the US currency as dollar demand from importers and some banks remained strong.
Strong dollar overseas amid late weakness in local stocks too put pressure on the rupee, dealers said.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened higher at 47.95/96 a dollar from previous close of 48.05/06. It immediately touched a high of 47.8350 following initial surge in local stocks.
However, its early recovery proved short-lived and it fell back to end at 48.33/34, the lowest close since September 15, 2009 when it had settled at 48.6350/6450.
In just straight three days, it has dipped by 107 paise or 2.26 per cent.
The dollar index was up by 0.3 per cent against a basket of currencies while New York crude oil was trading above USD 86 a barrel in European market.
