The rupee on Tuesday was unable to hold on to an early rise to three-week highs gains, losing ground to end slightly weaker after the stock market posted its first fall in five days.

It ended at 46.50/51 per dollar, weaker than 46.46/47 at close on Monday. In early deals it rose to 46.35, its highest since October 21, but later fell to a low of 46.61.

?It weakened because stocks fell after Fitch report on the possible downgrade of Britain,? said a forex trader at a foreign bank.

Fitch Ratings said that of the four major economies with AAA status, the UK was the most at risk, sending the pound down sharply.

Weakness the dollar against the euro late in the Indian session helped contain the rupee?s fall, the trader said.

?We expect dollar/rupee to grind towards 46.10-20 area,? he said.

10-year bonds were little changed before a monthly report on industrial production and a federal debt auction due this week.

A government report may show November 12 factory output grew 7% in September from a year earlier, slowing after a 10.4% gain in the previous months. India plans to sell Rs 10,000 crore of securities on November 13.

?There?s no clear sense of short-term direction in the market and so traders are awaiting the production report as well as the auction for triggers,? said Baljinder Singh, a fixed- income trader in Mumbai at Andhra Bank.

The yield on the 6.9% note due July 2019 was unchanged at 7.3% at the close.