The Rupee closed steadier after hitting a record low on Friday but notched its second weekly fall in a row as investors continued to fret over prolonged U.S.-India trade deal negotiations. Bankers and analysts expect the currency to keep drifting lower in the near term with interventions by the central bank keeping a lid on volatility. The rupee closed at 90.4150 per dollar, down 0.5% on the week. It fell to 90.55 in early trading but held above that level once the central bank stepped in to support the currency. The rupee is Asia’s worst-performing currency this year, down more than 5% against the dollar. However, despite this week’s slide, near-tenor volatility stayed contained, with one-month implied volatility at 4.2%, only slightly above its 2025 average. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone on Thursday, as New Delhi seeks relief from up to 50% U.S. tariffs on some of the country's key exports. Most Asian currencies rose on Friday, with the Chinese yuan hitting a 14-month high even as the People’s Bank of China signalled unease over its rapid gains. The divergence has pushed the rupee down about 8% against the yuan this year. It hit a record low versus the Chinese currency on Friday. The U.S. dollar drifted higher against major currencies on Friday after falling in recent sessions, but was still set for its third straight weekly drop amid the prospect of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve next year. Sterling also eased after data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in the three months to October. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six others, rose 0.1% to 98.39, recovering from a two-month low hit on Thursday but still on track for its third weekly decline with a 0.6% fall. For the month of December, the greenback has been 1.1% weaker so far. The index is also down more than 9% this year, on pace for its steepest annual drop since 2017. Against the yen, the dollar rose 0.3% to 155.98 yen ahead of next week's Bank of Japan meeting, where the broad expectation is for a rate hike. Markets are focused on comments from policymakers on how the rate path will look in 2026. The pound edged down 0.1% against the dollar to $1.3375, but was trading near a seven-week high hit on Thursday, after economic data that was likely to boost expectations for Bank of England interest rate cuts. Both sterling and the euro are poised for their third straight week of gains against the dollar. The Fed cut rates as expected this week but comments from Chair Jerome Powell and the accompanying statement were viewed by investors as less hawkish than expected and reinforced dollar-selling momentum. In other currencies, the Swiss franc steadied at 0.7951 per U.S. dollar, after rising to an almost one-month high on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank left its policy rate unchanged at 0% and said a recent agreement to reduce U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods had improved the economic outlook, even as inflation has somewhat undershot expectations. Oil prices inched lower on Friday and were on track for a weekly decline as investors focussed on a supply glut and potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal, which outweighed concerns over Venezuelan supply disruptions. Brent crude futures were down 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.14 a barrel at 1441 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 3 cents at $57.57. Both benchmarks fell by about 1.5% on Thursday.......