The Rupee opened weak on Friday, weighed down by a persistent rally in oil ?prices that has put the currency back under pressure ?after a brief respite. It has tumbled ?about 1.3% so far this week and is nearly two big ?figures off recent highs, underscoring how quickly selling pressure has re-emerged following a relief ?rally that lifted the currency to 92.50. The rupee's slide this week has not been ?allowed to spiral unchecked, with traders pointing to repeated intervention by the Reserve Bank of India to limit downside pressure on the currency. Bankers said the RBI has been offering ?dollars at multiple levels rather than drawing a hard line, indicating ?its intent to slow the currency's decline. The intention seems to be the manage the pace of ?the ?rupee’s decline, a currency trader at private sector bank said. The ?persistent pressure on ?the rupee this week has been largely driven by oil. Brent crude has surged nearly 18% to ?around $106 a barrel and briefly crossed $107 on Thursday ?for the ?first time in two weeks. The rally shows little sign of cooling, with fears of renewed military escalation in the Middle East keeping risk premium ?high. The ?dollar was on track for its first weekly gain in three weeks on Friday, as stalled peace negotiations between the U.S. ?and Iran dampened hopes for an immediate easing of Middle East tensions. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was little moved at 98.82 ?and remained on track for a weekly gain of 0.58%. The euro was flat at $1.1683, while sterling edged down 0.02% to $1.3464. The dollar has drawn safe-haven demand amid the uncertainty. It gained ground in March as concerns over the conflict deepened, but gave back some of those gains this month as optimism over a potential resolution grew. Meanwhile, the yen was on track for a fifth straight day of losses against the dollar, weakening 0.03% to 159.77 per dollar. The BOJ is set to hold its two-day policy meeting ending on Tuesday. Reuters reported?the bank is likely to hold off ?raising interest rates next week ?as fading prospects of a near-term end to the Middle East war keep the country's economic and price outlook highly uncertain. The BOJ is still expected to signal its readiness to hike to counter mounting price pressures. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.04% versus the greenback to $0.7131. ?New Zealand's kiwi strengthened 0.07% versus the greenback to $0.5856. The dollar also held firm against emerging Asian currencies, with the Philippine peso falling 0.29% to 60.70 per dollar, the Malaysian ringgit weakening 0.17% to 3.97 ?and the Indian rupee slipping 0.07% to 94.11. Oil prices rose on Friday morning over fears of renewed military escalation in the Middle East after Iran released footage of commandos boarding ?a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz and on reports Tehran's air ?defences had engaged "hostile targets". Brent crude futures rose $1.23, or 1.17%, to $106.3 a barrel by 0107 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.07, or 1.12%, at $96.92.......