New Delhi: Cementing its recent reputation as the weakest-performing Asian currency, the rupee on Friday touched 96.14 to a dollar on Friday (May 15), ending a week of near-continuous slide in its value. The rupee has repeatedly breached records of falling value against the dollar in recent weeks.The fall in rupee value risks making the fuel price hikes announced on Friday by the Modi government more permanent. It also comes as state governments begin to implement some of the austerity measures of the Indian government.The rupee witnessed one of its steepest declines to 95.31 against the dollar and Indian shares also fell sharply on Monday (May 11), the morning after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Indians to adopt wide-ranging and severe austerity measures.While Modi and later the Indian government claimed the steps would be in national interest during the crisis caused by the conflict in West Asia, the rupee ended at a record low of 95.31 to the dollar and continued falling as states began to implement cost-cutting measures proposed by the goverment.Crude touched USD 109.07 a barrel on Friday, as Brent prices climbed over 7.7% over the week and 3% in just one day, says a Reuters report.At the moment, India’s crude stocks are at 91 million barrels, falling from 107 million barrels at the end of February. India consumes about 5 million barrels of oil a day, which allows the current stock to cover around 18 days of demand.The petroleum ministry said on Thursday (May 14) that the current crude stocks can feed up to 60 days of national consumption with the stock estimate including cargoes loaded on India-bound ships.The trade gap has been widening at a rapid pace, increasing the rate at which India is spending dollars to purchase oil. India Today reports citing government data an over USD 8 billion wider gap in the trade deficit in April compared to March 2026, and a 61% rise in the crude basket price over twelve months.The Strait of Hormuz remains partially open as the US and Iran struggle to arrive at a consensus to end their conflict, now nearly 80 days old. India is the third-largest importer of crude in the world, heavily dependent of passage through the Hormuz Strait.There is concern that the rupee will breach the rupees 100 to a dollar mark, Finacial Express reported Monday, citing risks arising out of the rising price of crude in particular.The prime minister’s stated goal of saving foreign exchange reserves, which he said were squeezed by the war between the United States and Israel against Iran, backfired as crude soared above USD 100 a barrel on Iran and the United States failing to agree to a proposal to end the war.Brent crude crossed the psychologically significant USD 100 mark and was trading around USD 103.8-104.5 per barrel on Monday, up roughly 2.6%, Reuters reported Monday.