The Rupee closed weaker on Monday to end the month and quarter slightly lower, trailing most Asian peers amid muted portfolio inflows and weighed down by the country’s external investment deficit. The currency closed at 85.7550 against the U.S. dollar, down 0.3% on the day and posted modest losses of 0.2% and 0.3% respectively for the month and quarter, underperforming most Asian peers amid a broad dollar downtrend. While the Indian unit is little changed on the year so far, Asian peers such as the Taiwan dollar and Korean won have risen about nearly 13% and 8% year-to-date, respectively, while the offshore Chinese yuan, a closely tracked peer of the rupee, is up over 2%. The external investment positions of Asian countries have come into focus as investors ramp up hedge against persistent weakness in the dollar, thereby boosting currencies of countries with sizeable investment surpluses, like Korea and Taiwan. The dollar index is down over 10% on the year so far, bogged down by worries over U.S. trade and fiscal policies, worries over the future independence of the Federal Reserve and expectations of upcoming cuts to benchmark interest rates. Muted portfolio flows have also been a sore point for the rupee with foreign investors net pulling about $0.5 billion from local stocks and bonds over the April-June quarter. The dollar languished against the euro and Swiss franc on Monday as markets weighed the prospect of a ballooning U.S. government deficit and the potential for trade deals with major trading partners. The dollar was down 0.44% to 0.79475 against the Swiss franc . The euro was up 0.28% at $1.175450 against the dollar. The greenback was set to finish the month 3.4% down against the franc, while the euro was set to gain about 3.6% against the dollar. The dollar was down 0.19% to 144.33 against the Japanese yen , on track to finish the month flat versus the Asian currency. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.15% to 97.05, on track for its sixth straight month of losses. It is set to mark its worst half-year since the 1970s. Sterling weakened 0.12% to $1.3698. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.52% versus the greenback to $0.6563. Oil prices fell on Monday as investors weighed easing Middle East risks and a possible OPEC+ output increase in August. Brent crude futures were down 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.64 a barrel at 1:10 p.m. EDT (1710 GMT), ahead of the August contract's expiry later on Monday. The more active September contract was down 14 cents at $66.66.......