Rupee seen holding at 13-mth lows

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee is expected to hold at 13-month lows on Thursday as investors wait for the stock market to gauge foreign appetite for local assets, with a dip in the oil price offering some slight respite from recent falls.

* The partially convertible rupee ended down 0.8 percent at 42.45/46 per dollar on Wednesday, off an intraday low of 42.67, which was its weakest since April 13, 2007, according to Reuters data. It had closed at 42.10/11 on Tuesday, and has fallen 4.6 percent so far this month.

* Oil , India's biggest import, traded below $124 a barrel, after touching a record near $127 on Tuesday. High global oil prices raise the risk of widening India's trade deficit and putting downward pressure on the rupee.

* Foreign funds have been net sellers of nearly $3 billion of stocks this year, with the benchmark index down 16.3 percent since the close of 2007.