New Delhi: The Indian rupee weakened further on Monday (May 18) and ended at yet another record low of 96.35 (provisional) against the US dollar, down 0.4% from its closing level on Friday. The primary factor behind it are rising oil prices as the ongoing tensions in West Asia, due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, continues to unsettle global markets.The rupee extended its decline after opening at 96.20 against the US dollar. The Indian currency has shed 5.5% since the crisis began in March.Forex traders quoted by news agency PTI said that emerging market economies like India continue to feel the pressure of rising crude oil prices, as elevated rates increase the outflows of US dollars, along with the outflows already happening due to FPIs.According to Reuters, it has been sliding for seven consecutive sessions so far and is Asia’s worst-performing currency of the year as the jump in global bond yields converged with elevated energy prices has deepened the strain.Brent crude climbed to USD 111 a barrel on Monday following reports of a drone attack on a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, reports suggest that US President Donald Trump’s latest warning to Tehran that the “clock is ticking” for stalled negotiations on a permanent ceasefire led to losses at Wall Street.On Friday, the rupee crashed beyond the 96 per USD mark on before closing at an all-time low of 95.81 against the US dollar.Notably, the government, on May 13, hiked import duty on precious metals – gold and silver – from 6% to 15%. The effective duty, including 3% IGST, is over 18% now. The revised rates followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s austerity call during his address to the nation last Sunday, during which he called on Indians to embrace Covid-era restraint amid economic pressures from the West Asia conflict, urged reduced fuel use, work-from-home, virtual meetings, postponed foreign travel, silver and gold purchases for a year, and greater reliance on domestic products to conserve foreign exchange.