Mumbai: The rupee on Thursday closed below the 46 level for the first time in 11 months against the dollar, losing 5 paise amid sustained demand for the US currency from importers. After a see-saw trade on the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market, the rupee ended at 46.04/05, a loss of 5 paise over the last close. Sluggish local equities amid sustained dollar demand from importers weighed on the rupee, dealers said. The rupee opened weak at 46.10/12 a dollar from previous close of 45.99/46.00. It later dipped to a low of 46.2250, the lowest since September 16, 2010, when it logged intra-trade low of 46.40. Importers bought dollars for their month-end requirements which put pressure on the rupee at initial stages. However, late dollar selling by exporters at higher level helped the rupee to rebound from the day's low to a high of 45.94 before concluding at 46.04/05. Yesterday, it had tumbled by 0.36 paise or 0.78 percent. Capital outflows too weighed negatively on the rupee while dollar was slightly weak against its major rivals but not that much to support the rupee. Dollar index, gauging of six major currencies was down by about 0.1 per cent in London, ahead of the US Federal Chairman's scheduled speech tomorrow. Indian benchmark Sensex today closed down by nearly 139 points or 0.85 percent. "Rupee is likely to trade near 46.00 levels and the trading range for the USD/INR will be 45.75 to 46.25 tomorrow," Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services (India) said. .