The Rupee opened stronger on Friday after the U.S. dollar was on the front foot against major peers on Friday after its best single-day performance for three weeks with the Federal Reserve indicating no rush to cut interest rates. The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars remained on the defensive after steep slides on Thursday as worries about the economic drag from U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive campaign of global trade tariffs dented sentiment. The dollar index measure against a basket of six counterparts was steady at 103.81 as of 0036 GMT, after climbing 0.36% on Thursday. The index plumped a five-month low at 103.19 this week following a steady decline from the highest since late 2022 at 110.17 on January 13 as hopes for expansive policies under Trump gave way to anxiety that the global trade war he started could trigger a U.S. recession. Fed policymakers held rates steady on Wednesday and signaled two quarter-point cuts for later this year, the same median forecast as three months ago. The euro , which has by far the heaviest weighting in the dollar index, was little changed at $1.0854 after dropping 0.45% on Thursday. "It seems the market has lost some confidence to bid EUR/USD into 1.1000, and the spot rate seems to be carving out a 1.0950 to 1.0800 range," Weston said. Sterling eased 0.06% to $1.2961. The dollar added 0.07% to 148.88 yen , and was steady against its Canadian counterpart at C$1.4321 . The New Zealand dollar tumbled more than 1%, but found its feet at $0.05766 in the latest session. The currency lost ground despite data on Thursday showing the economy crawled out of recession last quarter. The Aussie was relatively stable at $0.6303 following a 0.86% slump. Oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Friday, and were set for their second consecutive weekly gains, after fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran and a new OPEC+ plan for seven members to cut output raised bets on tightening supply. Brent crude futures climbed 42 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.40 per barrel by 0026 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.6%, to $68.52 a barrel. Gold prices eased on Thursday after hitting a record high earlier in the session, but retained a bullish outlook driven by potential rate cuts signalled by the Federal Reserve and continuing geopolitical and economic uncertainties. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $3,038.79 an ounce by 11:38 a.m. EDT (1538 GMT) due to profit-taking, after hitting a record high of $3,057.21.......