Rupee hits 20-month low; weakness in offshore market

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee fell to its lowest in 20 months on Thursday, weighed down by concerns over the government's taxation policies that threaten to reduce the allure of local assets for foreign institutions, while a global debt sell-off also hurt.

Traders said the uptick in non-deliverable forwards traded in Singapore was hitting sentiment for the local unit and prompting custodian banks to sell the rupee.

The one-month NDF was at 64.35/35 versus Wednesday's close of 64.02. The partially convertible rupee was trading at 63.91/92 per dollar by 11:32 a.m., after hitting 63.93, its lowest since Sept. 13, 2013. The pair had closed at 63.54/55 on Wednesday.

Most emerging Asian currencies lost ground on Thursday as a global bond rout lifted government bond yields across the region.

Traders are now waiting to see if the Reserve Bank of India steps in to prevent a further sharp fall in the currency.

(Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)