Mumbai, Mar 13 (PTI) The rupee pared some losses and closed the session 5 paise down at a fresh record low of 92.30 against the US dollar on Friday, with crude oil prices stabilising around USD 100/barrel, even as global sentiment stayed volatile due to the West Asia crisis.

A strengthening greenback, heavy outflow of foreign funds and incessant selling in the domestic equity markets kept the rupee under pressure, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 92.33 and hit the lowest intra-day level of 92.47 against the US dollar. During the session, the currency pared some of its losses and settled at a new record low of 92.30 against the dollar, down 5 paise from its previous close.

In the preceding session, the rupee lost 24 paise to settle at 92.25 against the US dollar, its lowest-ever closing level until Thursday.

"The rupee hit a new record low on Friday on weak domestic markets and a strong dollar. Rising crude oil prices and continued FII outflows also pressured the rupee," Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.

"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk aversion in global markets amid the ongoing US-Israel and Iran war. Rising crude oil prices and worries over inflation may further pressurise the rupee. A strong dollar and rising US treasury yields may also weigh on the domestic unit," he said.

Rupee is expected to trade in the range of Rs 92.10-92.80, Choudhary added.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.43 per cent higher at 100.17.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.42 per cent at USD 100.88 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 1,470.50 points, or 1.93 per cent, to 74,563.92, while the Nifty plummeted to 23,151.10, down 488.05 points, or 2.06 per cent.

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 10,716.64 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

The country's forex reserves dropped by USD 11.683 billion to USD 716.810 billion during the week ended March 6, the RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by USD 4.885 billion to an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion. PTI TRB HVA