The Rupee opened to a record low on Friday, deepening losses driven by a disruption of global ?energy supplies amid the war in the Middle East, which threatens to upset the growth-inflation ?balance for Asia's third-largest economy. The strain on the rupee is unlikely to ease in the near term as worries over the oil price shock have prompted foreign investors to pull out over $8 billion from local stocks so far in March, the largest monthly outflows since January 2025. A sustained increase in energy prices could hurt India's growth and lift inflation, economists have said. Reflecting volatile oil prices, the dollar index hit a high of 100.30 before slipping back ?below 99.50. U.S. equity futures pared Thursday's losses. While the worst of the oil jolt "appears to have faded, offering a sort of relief", the broader backdrop remains unfavourable for ?the rupee, a currency trader at a Mumbai-based bank said. The dollar slid from multi-month highs this week as soaring energy prices upended the outlook for global interest rates, with the U.S. Federal Reserve left alone as the only major central bank that is not expected to hike rates this year. Before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began at the end of February, investors expected two Fed rate cuts this ?year and now think even one is a distant prospect. The euro , marginally softer at $1.1569 in the Asia morning, is up 1.4% for the week. The yen , which steadied around 157.88, has gained 1.2% and sterling , hovering at $1.3422, is ?up a bit more than 1.5%. Benchmark Brent crude futures are up about 50% since the U.S. and Israel started their war on Iran last month, which has all but closed the sea lane for Middle East energy exports. The BOE kept rates on hold as well, but set off one of the sharpest ever routs ?in short-dated gilts by saying it was ready to act and markets, which had seen rates drifting lower, have priced 80 basis points of hikes by year's end. Earlier on Thursday, the Bank of Japan left the door open to a hike as soon as April, wrongfooting investors who had bet on a further slide in the yen - and helping to lift the currency. The Australian dollar was trading just shy of 71 cents on Friday for a weekly gain ?of 1.5%, after the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates for the second time in as many months and investors expect there is more to come. The dollar index was steady at 99.359, but was on track for a 1.1% weekly decline, its largest since late January. Still, many analysts think a prolonged decline is unlikely. Oil prices eased on Friday while bonds were nursing losses, after global central bankers sounded the alarm on inflation risks stemming from the ongoing war in the Middle East that has sent markets into a tailspin. Gold prices rose on Friday on technical buying, but were headed for ?a third consecutive weekly decline, pressured by a firm U.S. dollar and as a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve dampened hopes for near-term interest rate cuts. Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,700.97 per ounce as of 0257 GMT, rebounding from a near two-month low hit in the previous session.......