The rupee fell 13 paise to close at 96.88 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, hurt by risk aversion in global markets and rising crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 96.71 and traded in a range of 96.65 to 96.79 during the day. On Wednesday, it had closed at 96.78 after tumbling 43 paise following the Reserve Bank of India’s rate hike. Brent crude climbed above $102 a barrel on Thursday on worries about supply from the Middle East amid more attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The dollar index traded near multi-month highs. Suspected RBI intervention supported the rupee at lower levels. Reuters reported that India’s first rate hike in four years is unlikely to slow record capital outflows. Foreign investors have pulled a record $30 billion from Indian equities this year. Goldman Sachs expects the repo rate to rise by another 25 basis points in December.