Indian rupee weakens to 95.55 amid rising crude oil prices and Strait of Hormuz tensions

Mumbai: The Indian rupee was 11 paise weaker on Friday as benchmark crude oil prices climbed to $105 per barrel amid fresh tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The rupee closed at 95.55, versus its previous close of 95.44, with the Reserve Bank of India likely selling dollars to contain excess weakness in the currency, traders said.

The local unit traded at an intraday low of 95.80. The rupee has come under pressure from global factors this week, giving up much of the rally that had taken it to a two-month high-near 94.30 per dollar-earlier this month.

Read more: The cost of sitting out: Missing Nifty’s best 50 days cuts CAGR to 0.94% from 13.55%: Abakkus MF


"There was a lot of dollar demand from oil companies, while state-run banks were spotted selling dollars at 95.80 levels," said Anil Bhansali, head of treasury at Finrex.