Rupee seen easing as oil refiners buy dollars

The rupee should drop on Thursday on nearly flat regional stocks, persistent demand for the dollar from oil refiners and a retreating euro.

* Dealers expect the rupee to open around 45.65/70 per dollar and move in 45.55-45.80 band. It had closed at 45.62/63 on Wednesday, off the day's high of 45.54 but stronger than its previous close of 45.755/765.

* Demand for dollars from oil refiners had pulled the rupee off Wednesday's high and will continue to weigh on the unit, traders said.

* At 0251 GMT, the MSCI index of Asian shares ex-Japan was up 0.3% and the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore was nearly flat, indicating a steady opening for local stocks.

* The euro fell from a 2-1/2-month high against the dollar on Wednesday as tensions in Egypt escalated, though the euro zone single currency's uptrend stayed intact given signs of rising inflation in that area. The euro rose above USD 1.3860 overnight, its strongest level since early November but retreated later.

* The dollar index, a measure of the greenback's performance against six major currencies, was down 0.09% at 77.092 points.

* Foreign funds were net sellers of USD 1.5 billion worth of shares this year until February 1. Last year, investments had reached a record USD 29.3 billion.