MUMBAI, Dec 13: The rupee ended firmer on Friday, helped by dollar remittances from a large software company and drawing support from a broadly weaker overseas dollar, dealers said.

The rupee ended at 48.1675/ 1775 per dollar against the previous close of 48.1875/1975, and has risen 0.1 per cent against the greenback during the week.

It is up 1.87 per cent since hitting a lifetime low of 49.08 per dollar in mid-May but is still undervalued by two percent on a trade-weighted basis.

Dealers said state-run banks, acting on behalf of the central bank, made only feeble attempts to restrain the rupee’s rise, but added that dollar purchases by a large state-run fertiliser company weighed on the local unit.

The dollar’s bigger fall against other major currencies has prompted the central bank to intervene to temper the rupee’s gains in recent sessions in order to maintain the export competitiveness of Indian goods and services.

Analysts expect robust dollar inflows to continue for the next few months due to favourable interest rate differentials and India’s healthy external finances.

They added that the rupee was unlikely to be affected in the near-term by the outcome of Thursday’s polls in the neighbouring western state of Gujarat.—Reuters