Indian rupee weakens

The Indian rupee weakened on Monday, as traders bought dollars locally to arbitrage in offshore markets and cash in on the high rate differential. The partially convertible rupee ended at 42.92/93 per dollar, off a low of 42.99 but 0.1 percent weaker than Friday's close of 42.87/88. It hit a 15-month low of 43.50 early this month.
"There was mostly offshore-related dollar buying today, which pushed the rupee lower. But softer oil prices helped curb a sharp fall," a senior dealer with a private bank said. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting around 43.17/43.27 per dollar, 0.6 percent weaker than the onshore rate.