Rupee Rises Despite Crude Oil Crossing $100 Mark

The Indian rupee rebounded by 18 paise to close at 96.55 against the US dollar on Friday, despite crude oil prices crossing the $100-mark for the first time.

Traders attributed the recovery to likely Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervention, with some public sector banks reportedly selling dollars to stabilize the currency.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, noted that there are reports of RBI intervention and PSU bank dollar sales aiding the rupee's recovery.

However, heightened tensions in West Asia, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) outflows, and sustained negative sentiments in domestic equity markets continued to pressure the local unit.