The local currency on a weekly basis gained 24 paise.

The rupee on Friday fell by 18 paise to close at 69.46 against the US currency on strengthening of the greenback in overseas markets and rising crude oil prices. Forex traders said that weakened Asian currencies also added to the pressure on the domestic unit. However, gains in domestic equities supported the rupee and capped its losses to some extent, they added.

At the forex market, the domestic currency opened higher at 69.23 per dollar, but lost ground during the day to fall to 69.52. The rupee finally settled at 69.46, down 18 paise over its previous close. The rupee had settled at 69.28 against the dollar on Thursday. The local currency on a weekly basis gained 24 paise.

"Rupee has declined against the dollar following recovery in crude oil prices and lower Asian currencies against US dollar," said V K Sharma, Head-PCG & Capital Market Strategy, HDFC Securities.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, climbed 1.62 per cent to $62.67 per barrel. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.02 per cent to 97.06, ahead of the US payroll data.

Meanwhile, the 10-year government bond yield was at 6.97 per cent on Friday.

"The yield on benchmark 10 year bonds rises 4 bps to 6.97 per cent, heading for a fourth straight weekly drop after RBI's "accommodative" stance from "neutral" and cut 25 bps interest rate," Sharma said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 478.84 crore Friday, the provisional data showed.

Equity benchmarks had a highly volatile trade Friday. The BSE gauge settled 86.18 points, or 0.22 per cent, up at 39,615.90. The broader NSE Nifty rose 26.90 points, or 0.23 per cent, to settle at 11,870.65.