The Rupee opened strong against the dollar as a slight fall in crude oil prices is expected to offset the effect of a firm dollar index. Oil prices eased as traders assessed the potential of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve this year, and weakening global demand. The dollar index has remained firm as market participants await further cues on the timing of a rate cut by the Fed this year. Recent speeches by Fed officials indicate the US central bank may wait a little before cutting rates. "The issue right now is when are we going to be certain that inflation is clearly on a path back to 2%," Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. "I think it's going to take a while before we know that for sure." At 0800 IST, the dollar index, which measures the strength in the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 104.62, the same as Monday's close, and slightly higher than Friday's close of 104.50. Against the yen, the dollar rose 0.07% to 156.37 in the early Asian session. The yen has traded in a tight range over the past few sessions as fears of further intervention. Elsewhere, the euro edged 0.03% higher to $1.0860, while sterling similarly tacked on 0.03% to $1.27095. Crude oil prices fell after indications from Fed officials that they would wait for more signals of inflation coming down, before cutting rates. "It is too early to tell whether the recent slowdown in the disinflationary process will be long-lasting," Fed vice chair Philip Jefferson said at the Mortgage Bankers Association conference in New York. At 0800 IST, the July Brent crude oil contract on the Intercontinental Exchange was at $83.37 a barrel. It had settled at $83.71 a bbl on Monday and $83.98 a bbl on Friday.......