• Indian Rupee trades in negative territory on the stronger USD demand. 
• The escalating Middle East geopolitical tensions and the rise in oil prices weigh on the INR. 
• The RBI will announce the interest rate decision on Friday, which is expected to leave the repo rate unchanged at 6.50%.

Indian Rupee (INR) loses its recovery momentum on Friday amid persistent US Dollar (USD) demand, which is most likely from importers. Meanwhile, the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the upsurge in oil prices exert some selling pressure on the INR and lift the safe-haven currency like the Greenback. However, the downside of the local currency might be limited by the RBI's two-way FX intervention to keep the INR stable. 

The RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce the interest rate decision on Friday at 4.30 GMT. Markets widely anticipate the Indian central bank to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.50% and cut the rates in the third quarter. On the US docket, the US employment data, including Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), Unemployment Rate, and Average Hourly Earnings for March, will be in the spotlight. The US NFP figure is estimated to see 200K jobs added to the US economy in March.