The Rupee closed weaker on Friday and for the week as global risk-off sentiment added to pressure from unfavourably skewed hedging and investment flows, keeping the currency pinned near its record low. The Reserve Bank of India likely intervened across the spot, NDF and futures markets to stabilise the currency, traders said. The rupee closed at 88.7425 per U.S. dollar, down about 0.1% on both the day and week. The rupee hovered in touching distance of its all time low at 88.80 through the day's session but averted steeper losses on account of the central bank's market intervention. The currency has held on the stronger side of that level since Sept. 30, supported by stepped-up RBI defence that has also kept volatility expectations contained.Asian currencies were trading mixed and the dollar index was steady at 99.2. While the U.S. government shutdown has concluded, investors continue to fret over gaps in economic data that could delay or even derail future policy easing. Money markets are currently pricing in a near 49% chance of a Fed rate cut next month, down from above 60% earlier in the week. British markets were whipped around on Friday, with sterling, government bonds and stocks suffering steep losses as speculation swirled around the UK government's highly-anticipated November 26 budget. The 10-year government bond, or gilt, yield was last up 11 basis points at 4.55%, set for its biggest one-day jump since July when concern around Reeves' position as finance minister briefly roiled markets. Sterling was last down 0.3% at $1.325. It also tumbled on the euro, which hit its strongest levels against the pound since April 2023 at around 88.64 pence. British government bonds, until Friday, had outperformed peers helped both by traders' bets that weak economic data and cooler inflation would help the Bank of England cut rates more quickly, and what they had thought were Reeves' plans to raise income tax. Ten-year yields are still down around 20 basis points from the start of September, but up over 10 bps from their mid-October lows. The euro dropped nearly 0.5% to as low as 0.9180 francs, its lowest since 2015's dramatic swings when Swiss authorities de-pegged their currency from the euro. The dollar dropped 0.4% on the franc to a near one-month low of 0.7896. The under fire Japanese yen, another traditional safe haven, also saw some gains on the risk-off mood, and the dollar was down 0.3% on the yen at 154.06. However, it was still in sight of its nine-month high against the Japanese currency hit just a few days ago. The dollar itself was less moved by all the drama, trading flat against a basket of six peers at 99.26. The index hit a six-month high last month, although it is down about 0.3% on the week. Versus the euro, the greenback was a fraction stronger at $1.1621 to the common currency. Typically, higher U.S. yields and a stock market selloff would see investors rush to the greenback, while earlier this year, during the turmoil sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcements, the dollar fell alongside stocks and bonds. In Asian markets, it was a busy day for currencies. The South Korean won jumped 1% against the dollar after the country's foreign exchange authorities vowed to take measures to stabilise a wobbly currency and were suspected of dollar-selling market intervention. In China, the onshore yuan peaked at a one-year high of 7.0908 per dollar, with traders citing dollar selling by local exporters after the currency pair breached a key threshold. Oil prices climbed more than 1% on Friday, boosted by supply fears after the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk halted oil exports following a Ukrainian drone attack that hit an oil depot in the major Russian energy hub. Brent crude futures were up 87 cents, or 1.4%, at $63.88 a barrel by 1221 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 93 cents, or 1.6%, to $59.62 a barrel.......