Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) The rupee rose 9 paise to settle at 95.38 against the US dollar on Friday as the greenback weakened and crude oil prices eased despite uncertainties over West Asia peace.

Positive sentiment in the domestic equity markets also supported the local currency, according to forex traders.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.27 against the greenback and traded in the range of 95.22 to 95.42 before eventually settling at 95.38, up 9 paise from its previous close.

The Indian currency appreciated by just 1 paisa to close at 95.47 against the US dollar on Thursday.

"The rupee fell to 95.42 this afternoon after gaining to 95.22 in the morning on a lower dollar index. However, buying by oil companies and importers kept the dollar up... Improved risk appetite and expectations of continued foreign portfolio inflows provided support to the rupee," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

According to Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, the rupee recovered somewhat from the previous day's losses as US President Donald Trump said Iran wants to make a deal. This led to a rise in risk appetite in global markets and a softening of the US dollar.

"Any intervention by the RBI may support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims and existing home sales data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 95.10 to Rs 95.80," Choudhary said.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 100.86, down 0.04 per cent.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.62 per cent at USD 75.83 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 827.57 points, or 1.08 per cent, to settle at 77,569.39 while the Nifty surged 244.10 points, or 1.02 per cent, to close at 24,206.90.

Foreign institutional investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,603.72 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.

On Thursday, a series of unclaimed airstrikes hit Iran after the US said it had finished its attacks against the Islamic Republic.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said the country's forex reserves jumped USD 7.26 billion to USD 674.193 billion during the week ended July 3. In the previous reporting week, the forex kitty had dropped by USD 5.654 billion to USD 666.933 billion. PTI TRB HVA

Rupee gains on weaker dollar, softer crude and strong equity sentiment amid expectations of RBI support. The rupee appreciated against the US dollar in interbank trade, supported by a weaker dollar index, easing crude oil prices, improved risk appetite in global markets and positive domestic equity sentiment. Market participants also noted that continued foreign portfolio inflows and buying by oil companies and importers influenced intraday movement, while traders expected the currency to trade within a defined near-term range.