By Anoop Agrawal Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- India’s rupee dropped on speculation importers bought dollars to meet month-end payments. Costlier crude oil is forcing refiners to obtain more U.S. currency in the foreign-exchange market. The price of the fuel has jumped 76 percent this year in New York as the recovery from a global recession boosted demand. India, Asia’s third-largest economy, gets more than 70 percent of the crude it needs from abroad. “Dollar demand has strengthened from importers after the recent holiday,” said Naveen Raghuvanshi, a currency trader at Development Credit Bank Ltd. in Mumbai. “I expect the rupee to be under pressure.” The rupee slipped 0.1 percent to 46.681 per dollar as of 9:35 a.m. in Mumbai, from 46.655 on Dec. 24, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Local markets were closed on Dec. 25 and yesterday for holidays. The currency strengthened 4.5 percent this year, paring its loss for the decade to 6.7 percent. Offshore contracts indicate bets the rupee will trade at 46.76 to the dollar in a month, compared with expectations for a rate of 46.70 on Dec. 24. 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 reporters on this story: Anoop Agrawal in Mumbai at aagrawal8@bloomberg.net.

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