Indian rupee at fresh 8-½ mth low, oil weighs

MUMBAI, May 8 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee touched a fresh 8-½ month low on Thursday, as record oil prices pumped up dollar demand from refiners, raising concerns of a widening trade deficit.

* At 9:10 a.m. (0340 GMT), the partially convertible rupee <INR=IN> traded at 41.605/615 per dollar, off an early low of 41.63, the weakest since Aug. 20, according to Reuters data. It ended at 41.36/37 on Wednesday.

* Oil CLc1, India's biggest import, traded above $123 a barrel, close to its record high hit on Wednesday. India imports 70 percent of its oil needs, and crude refiners are among the biggest Indian buyers of dollars. (Reporting by Anurag Joshi; Editing by Prem Udayabhanu)