India’s rupee dropped to an eight- week low as concern Europe’s debt crisis will worsen bolstered demand for the dollar. European finance ministers meet today to discuss further support for Greece, which will plead for a boost in its 110 billion-euro ($155 billion) financial assistance from the region’s governments and the International Monetary Fund. India is expected to revise its economic growth target downward, Kaushik Basu, chief economic adviser to the finance ministry, said May 12. “Europe’s debt crisis is one reason” for the weakening currency, said Thio Chin Loo, a senior currency analyst at BNP Paribas SA in Singapore. “Rising inflation and economic growth are a concern for the rupee. The central bank raised interest rates a little more than expected in the last round.” The rupee dropped 0.5 percent to 45.0898 per dollar as of 9:25 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It touched 45.0975, the weakest level since March 21. India’s economic growth may slow to “around 8 percent” in the year that began April 1 from an estimated 8.6 percent in the previous 12 months, the Reserve Bank of India said May 3. The country’s gross domestic product may grow as much as 9.25 percent this year, the finance ministry said in February. A report today will show wholesale prices increased by 8.50 percent in April from a year earlier, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. That compared with 8.98 percent in March. The central bank raised borrowing costs by half a percentage point on May 3. Offshore forwards indicate the rupee will trade at 45.79 to the dollar in three months, compared with expectations of 45.60 at the end of last week. Forwards are agreements to buy or sell assets at a set price and date. Non-deliverable contracts are settled in dollars. To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Khalid Qayum in Singapore at kqayum@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net

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