Mumbai, Jul 13 (PTI) The rupee depreciated 30 paise to close at 95.68 against the US dollar on Monday, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.

Forex traders said renewed drone and missile strikes between the US and Iran prompted supply concerns, while elevated crude oil prices and a strong greenback triggered capital outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.72 against the American currency and traded in a range of 95.58-95.86 during the session.

The rupee finally closed at 95.68, down 30 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee rose 9 paise to settle at 95.38 against the US dollar.

"The Indian rupee opened lower as the US-Iran war intensified over the weekend. A surge in crude oil prices and a rise in the US dollar too pressurised the rupee. However, the rupee recovered from lower levels on recovery in the domestic markets and some softening of crude oil prices from the day's highs," said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan.

Choudhary further said, "We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk aversion in global markets amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran. However, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions may support the rupee at lower levels." USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.40 to 96, Choudhary said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 100.91, down 0.03 per cent.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.93 per cent at USD 77.48 per barrel in futures trade.

According to Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, the rupee traded weaker as a more than 4 per cent surge in crude oil prices increased concerns over India's import bill and weighed on the domestic currency.

"The renewed escalation in US-Iran tensions also supported the US dollar, keeping pressure on emerging market currencies. Market participants will closely watch the upcoming US CPI inflation data, which could determine the next move in the dollar Index and global currencies. FII flows will remain another key factor, as recent improvement in foreign inflows has helped cushion the rupee's downside," Trivedi said and projected the rupee "to trade in the 95.20-96.00 range in the near term".

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex ended marginally higher by 47.01 points at 77,616.40, while the Nifty was up 4.10 points to 24,211.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,062.27 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.

The government data released on Monday showed retail inflation in the country climbed to 4.38 per cent in June, surpassing the crucial 4 per cent mark that the Reserve Bank of India is mandated to maintain with a margin of (plus/minus) 2 per cent. In May, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation stood at 3.93 per cent.

The latest trade data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry showed that the country's trade gap in June widened to a five-month high of USD 30.43 billion, even though the exports recorded a growth of 15.5 per cent to USD 40.41 billion.

The increase in trade deficit was attributed to a surge in imports, driven mainly by higher crude oil prices. The country's overall merchandise imports in June went up by about 31 per cent to USD 70.84 billion.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said India and the US teams are fully engaged in a trade pact that is balanced, commercially meaningful, and delivers tangible benefits for businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers. PTI DRR HVA