The Rupee opened weaker on Friday, dragged by rising crude oil prices and persistent dollar demand from importers ?looking to hedge their foreign currency exposure. The currency has traded in a narrow 30-paisa range ?so far this week, repeating last week's pattern. On a daily basis, ?the rupee has come under pressure from oil and importer hedging, with declines ?then stalling on RBI intervention. The dollar's weakness from the U.S. Treasury taking steps to support long-maturity bonds has worked in the RBI's favour in supporting the rupee. The dollar remained under pressure on Friday and was on track for a weekly loss, with markets largely ?seeing the U.S. Treasury's ?bond buyback ?move a short-lived fix. The selloff in longer-dated U.S. Treasuries resumed on Thursday, cutting short the relief rally sparked by the ?Treasury Department's decision to double buybacks of longer-maturity securities ?next quarter. This ?came despite U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying the U.S may repurchase more Treasuries. Brent crude was hovering just below $94 a barrel on Friday, after rising more ?than ?2% in the previous session. It has climbed ?nearly 12% over the past two weeks with uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S.-Israeli war ?with Iran keeping supply concerns high. The dollar was on shaky ground and set for a weekly loss on ?Friday, as investors viewed the U.S. Treasury's bond buyback gambit as merely a temporary fix, while raising fresh concerns about ?officials' increasingly interventionist approach. Against a weaker dollar, the euro was perched near a three-month high and last bought $1.1685, ?on track for a weekly rise of 1%. Sterling flirted with a six-month peak and edged 0.08% higher to $1.3643, taking its gains for the week ?thus far to 0.8%. The greenback was meanwhile on track for a weekly fall of more than 0.8% and was last at 98.82, languishing near a three-month low against a basket of six other currencies. In other currencies, the Australian dollar advanced 0.13% to $0.7123, while the New Zealand dollar added 0.23% to $0.5957 and was headed for a weekly rise of more than 1%. The yen slipped 0.05% to 159.12 per dollar, continuing to come under pressure from wide U.S.-Japan rate differentials. Oil prices fell slightly on Friday, but were on track for a second weekly rise as the stalemated U.S.-Iran war ?continues to disrupt supply from the key Middle East producing region. Brent crude futures ?fell 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $93.55 a barrel by 0142 GMT, after climbing 2.4% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $86.50 a barrel, after rising 2.3% in ?the prior session.......
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