The Rupee opened under pressure on Friday, with mounting concerns that oil prices may ?stay higher for longer keeping sentiment fragile, while the ?central bank is seen smoothing the downside. Oil prices remain the dominant ?factor shaping sentiment across markets, including FX, bonds and equities. On Thursday, ?Brent crude climbed 9% to reclaim the $100-per-barrel mark on mounting worries over supply disruptions. Investors are weighing the possibility that disruptions to energy supplies could last longer ?than previously expected. Sustained high oil prices would pose risks for India’s ?economy, raising the import bill, widening the current account deficit and putting pressure ?on ?the rupee. U.S. equities dropped on Thursday, while Treasury yields rose. It appears ?the market has pushed out its expectations for how ?long ?the Strait of Hormuz closure and the broader conflict could last, Chris Weston, head research at Melbourne-based Pepperstone, said. The central bank has ?been propping ?up the rupee since the conflict began, intervening periodically in ?the market. Traders expect the RBI to continue leaning against sharp currency moves without attempting to ?halt the broader downside. The dollar held gains on Friday and was set for its second weekly gain since the beginning of the war ?in Iran as turmoil in markets left it the last safe-haven standing. The euro traded near its weakest since ?November while the yen was at levels that put traders on guard for possible intervention by authorities in Japan. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, reached the highest level since November, thanks in part to its safe-haven appeal, but also because the United States is a net energy exporter. The index fell 0.04% to 99.63 in early trading ?in Asia, poised for a 0.8% gain this week. The euro was up 0.13% at $1.1525. The yen strengthened 0.17% to 159.08 ?per dollar after touching 159.43 on Thursday, the weakest since January 14. Sterling was up 0.11% to $1.3356. nvestors are also ?focused on next ?week's meetings at the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to gauge how policymakers will react to the prospect of an energy-price shock. The swaps market on Thursday showed that traders expect the European Central Bank to raise rates possibly as soon as ?June, while ?the U.S. Federal Reserve could leave it until September before cutting rates, ?from a previous expectation for July, according to data compiled by LSEG. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.14% versus the greenback to $0.7084, while New Zealand's kiwi edged up ?0.05% to $0.5858. Oil prices dropped on Friday morning after the U.S. issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, easing ?supply concerns. Brent futures dropped 71 cents, or 0.71%, to $99.75 a barrel by 0123 GMT, ?and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 88 cents, or 0.92%, to $94.85.......