The Rupee closed weak as it endured its steepest fall in two weeks on Monday, as oil prices climbed past $100 per barrel, ?while supportive dollar flows for the currency, spurred by banks' unwinding ?of arbitrage positions, dissipated. The rupee closed at 93.3750 per U.S. dollar, down 0.7% on the day, its sharpest decline since March 27, the day on which the central bank rolled out ?measures to curb excessive rupee volatility. An unwinding of positions following the measures ?gave the rupee some breathing room heading into the April 10 ?deadline for banks to lower their net open rupee positions. With that out of ?the way, traders reckon that the local currency will be driven by how oil ?prices move and how foreign portfolio flows into Indian assets shape up. The British pound fell against a broadly stronger dollar ?on Monday after talks between Iran and the U.S. broke down and the ?U.S. Navy said it would blockade the Strait of Hormuz, sending energy prices surging. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz after the two sides failed to reach a deal ?to end the war, jeopardising a fragile two-week ceasefire. U.S. Central Command said forces would ?begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports ?from 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday. The pound was last down 0.2% at $1.3429 after rising more than 2% last ?week, its biggest weekly gain since March 2025. Against the euro , sterling was little changed at 87.02 pence. The war in the Middle East has sent energy prices sharply higher, stoking inflation concerns and adding to worries about global growth. Brent crude futures were up around 8% on Monday, trading above $102.50 per barrel. The dollar climbed on Monday after peace talks between the U.S. and Iran broke down and as ?the U.S. Navy prepared to blockade Iranian ports, while the Hungarian forint rallied after the center-right Tisza party ?defeated Viktor Orban in a landslide election victory. The dollar index , which ?measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.16% to ?98.88, with the euro down 0.18% at $1.1698. The greenback is coming off its biggest weekly percentage drop since mid-January. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar weakened 0.21% versus the dollar to $0.7045 and the New Zealand dollar edged down 0.09% versus the greenback to $0.5827. The dollar has tended to gain when tensions between Iran and the U.S. have risen, ?given ?its status as a safe haven and the relative insulation of the U.S. to imported energy-price inflation. Against the Norwegian krone, , the dollar weakened 0.47% to 9.488 and the Canadian dollar strengthened 0.01% versus the greenback to C$1.383 per dollar, with both currencies sensitive to movements in crude prices. Against the yen , the U.S. dollar was up 0.28% to 159.74 as yields on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bonds advanced 3.2 basis points to 2.496%, the highest in nearly three decades. Oil prices jumped about 6% to more than $100 a ?barrel on Monday after the U.S. military said it will blockade ships leaving Iran's ports, while Tehran threatened to retaliate against its Gulf neighbours' ports, raising fears of more energy supply disruptions after weekend peace talks broke down. Brent futures were up $5.76, or 6.1%, to $100.96 a barrel at 11:15 a.m., while U.S. West Texas ?Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $5.69, or 5.9%, to $102.26.......