The Indian rupee breached the 50-mark against the greenback for the second time in more than two months but closed a shade lower at 49.92/93, still down by 22 paise from its last close. Sustained dollar buying by foreign banks put pressure on the local unit and it fell to 50.06 in intra-day, a level not seen since December 3, 2008. The rupee has lost a whopping 125 paise or 2.57 per cent in straight three sessions since Monday. The rupee crashed by a massive 88 paise or 1.80 per cent on Tuesday alone. Foreign banks frantically bought dollars for selling in the offshore non-deliverable forwards market to make an immediate risk free profit. Dealers said weakness in global bourses also weighed against the rupee. Dollar selling by state-run banks at the 50-level helped the rupee to recover some of its lost ground and conclude the day at 49.92/93 a dollar.

Meanwhile, gold crossed the Rs 15,500 level to an all-time intra-day high of Rs 15,545 but ended at Rs 15,490 on the bullion market here today on safe-haven buying prompted by firm trend in global markets. Uncertainty in equity shares and worsening worldwide recession boosted the prices in the overseas markets as investors preferred to park funds in the yellow metal.