Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- India’s rupee weakened for a fourth day as the nation’s importers bought foreign currency to meet month-end payments. The currency dropped to the lowest in more than six weeks as companies such as Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s largest refiner, stocked up on dollars to pay for crude oil imports. The price of the commodity has gained almost 60 percent this year. India meets three-quarters of its energy needs from imports. The local currency also fell after traders increased bets it will weaken in the overseas non-deliverable forwards market. “Demand for foreign exchange is increasing while the supply is not enough,” said Vikas Babu, a trader at state-owned Andhra Bank in Mumbai. “The rupee will remain under pressure in the next few days.” The rupee fell 0.2 percent to 49.015 per dollar as of 9:30 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It reached 49.0550, the lowest intraday level since July 13. The currency may drop to 49.20 this week, Babu said. It is Asia’s worst-performing currency this month with a 2.2 percent loss. Offshore contracts indicate bets the rupee will trade at 49.13 to the dollar in a month, compared with expectations for a rate of 48.99 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. Asia’s third-largest economy imported crude oil worth $5 billion in June, compared with $4.1 billion in May and $3.6 billion in April, data released by the commerce ministry show.

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