By Anoop Agrawal Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- India’s rupee fell for the first time in three days on speculation the nation’s refiners stepped up purchases of dollars to guard against rising oil costs. The Dollar Index, a gauge of the greenback’s value against the currencies of six major trading partners, gained as declines in Asian shares boosted demand for safe-haven assets. India imports more than 70 percent of the crude oil it uses and the price of the fuel has climbed 1.2 percent this week in New York, extending this year’s advance to 74 percent. “Importers are of the view that the rupee will not advance in a big way, and in anticipation they are buying dollars,” said Sudarshan Bhatt, the Mumbai-based chief currency trader at state-owned Corporation Bank. “The stock markets are also appearing to be weak, which may deter flows.” The rupee fell 0.2 percent to 46.57 per dollar as of 11:21 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The currency has strengthened 3.3 percent this quarter, the best performance among Asia’s 10 most-used currencies.The MSCI Asia- Pacific Index of shares slid 0.6 percent, while the Dollar Index added 0.3 percent. Offshore contracts indicate bets the rupee will trade at 46.57 to the dollar in a month, compared with expectations of 46.49 yesterday. Forwards are agreements in which assets are bought and sold at current prices for future delivery. Non- deliverable contracts are settled in dollars rather than the local currency. To contact the reporter on this story: Anoop Agrawal in Mumbai at aagrawal8@bloomberg.net

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