The Indian rupee fell to an 8-month low on Wednesday as record oil prices pushed up dollar demand from refiners, raising concerns of a widening trade deficit. India imports 70 percent of its oil needs, and crude refiners such as HPCL and BPCL are among the biggest Indian buyers of dollars.
The partially convertible rupee closed at 41.36/37 per dollar, off an intraday low of 41.41, the weakest since August 20, according to Reuters data. It ended at 40.95/96 on Tuesday.