By Anil Varma Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- India's rupee, trading near a record low, was set for a second weekly loss as a slide in global stocks fueled concern investors will step up equity sales. Seven of the 10 most-active currencies in Asia outside Japan fell today after Singapore and Taiwan forecast further contraction of their economies and a report yesterday showed U.S. unemployment claims approached a 26-year high. India's benchmark stock index headed for a second weekly decline as global funds dumped more local shares than they bought for a sixth day. ``The rupee still faces some risks in the short term, mainly due to global uncertainties,'' said Vikas Agarwal, a currency and interest-rate strategist in Mumbai at JPMorgan Chase & Co. ``Volatility remains high across asset markets.'' The rupee weakened as much as 0.8 percent to 50.56 a dollar before trading at 50.29 as of 10 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It touched an all-time low of 50.5925 yesterday. Investors based abroad pulled a record $4.27 billion out of India's equity and debt markets last month as the credit crisis escalated following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September. They sold a record $13.2 billion of shares this year, data provided by the Securities and Exchange Board of India show. Japan's economy, the world's second-biggest, will probably shrink this year and next in the first back-to-back contractions since the onset of the banking crisis a decade ago, economists said in a Bloomberg survey. Singapore today lowered its growth forecast for a fourth time this year and said the economy may contract in 2009. The U.S. and Europe are already in recession. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slumped 6.7 percent yesterday to the lowest in 11 years. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has lost 8.4 percent this week. To contact the reporters on this story: Anil Varma in Mumbai at avarma3@bloomberg.net.

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