The Rupee opened slightly stronger on Friday, with a pullback in oil prices offering relief ?to the currency after a week of persistent pressure. The Reserve Bank of ?India's near-daily intervention across multiple levels has absorbed much of ?the dollar demand, masking the currency's underlying weakness and keeping ?its moves relatively contained. The Reserve Bank of India ?likely intervened in the ?foreign exchange market on Friday, three traders told ?Reuters, as uncertainty over ?the Middle East conflict ?kept risk appetite ?muted and oil prices elevated. The ?rupee was steady on the back of the intervention ?at 95.40 per ?dollar. It managed to hold above ?the ?psychologically important 95.50 level, similar to price action seen over much ?of ?this ?week where interventions have kept a ?firm lid on ?the ?currency's losses. The yen headed for its biggest weekly loss in three months on Friday as the impact of U.S. and Japanese intervention faded, leaving ?traders to wager another round of official buying would be needed to stem the rot. The currency has surrendered roughly half ?the gains sparked by intervention in late July and early August, falling about 1% this week to 159.43 per dollar . It was trading near 164 per dollar before July's intervention and traders see the 160 level as a potential trigger for fresh official action. The yen's retreat is set to be its biggest weekly drop since May, when it ?was also backsliding after a round of official buying. A fall of about 0.8% to 183.91 yen per euro this week ?is the largest since April. The euro edged 0.2% lower to $1.1536 this week while sterling was flat at $1.3489. A surprisingly low inflation expectations ?reading knocked the New Zealand dollar on Thursday, but it bounced back as the swap market stuck with an 85% chance of a rate ?hike in September. The Australian dollar hovered at $0.7060. Markets have already bet on the Bank of Japan raising rates further and sooner than previously expected after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Japan should reinforce currency intervention with policies and fundamentals that underpin the yen. Markets currently see a 76% chance of a BOJ hike in September, according to ?Tokyo Tanshi data, a dramatic increase compared with 24% on July 30, but one which also opens ?the door to yen ?falls if investors are disappointed. China's yuan hovered at 6.7452 in offshore trade on Friday, not far from a 3-1/2-year high touched last week. South Korea's won , which was also supported by official intervention as authorities sold dollars in concert with Japan last month, has held steadier than the yen though was ?set to ?notch a modest loss of 0.6% on the dollar this week. Oil prices inched up on Friday after the United States threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran, reviving ?concerns about supply of crude after the previous session's fall on a weaker outlook ?for demand and a large build in U.S. stocks. Brent futures rose 1 cent, or 0.1%, to $87.08 a barrel by 0247 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 6 cents to $81.31 a barrel.......