The Rupee closed marginally weaker on Wednesday, lagging Asian peers, on dollar demand linked to maturing non-deliverable forwards positions and month-end importer demand, while positive cues from a broad-based decline in the greenback capped losses. The currency has weakened about 2% so far this month, making it the worst performer among its Asian currencies, as investors continue to fret over persistent foreign portfolio outflows from equities. Outflows have already touched $4 billion in January. On the day, intermittent dollar sales from state-run banks and likely central bank presence in the non-deliverable forwards market helped limit the currency's losses, according to traders. Most Asian currencies, meanwhile, were up between 0.1% and 0.9% while the dollar index struggled to meaningfully bounce back from a four-year low hit in the previous session after President Donald Trump brushed off its recent weakness. While there is no change expected in benchmark borrowing costs, the focus will be on commentary from Fed Chair Powell regarding the future interest rate trajectory and the ongoing challenges to the independence of the U.S. central bank. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, rebounding from a four-year low touched in the prior session, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed the United States' preference for a strong dollar. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency's strength against a basket of peers, rose 0.5% to 96.391. The index sank as low as 95.86 on Tuesday, its weakest since February 2022, after U.S. President Donald Trump brushed off this month's slide, emboldening dollar bears. The dollar index is down nearly 2% for the year, after falling 9.4% last year. The dollar has been under pressure due to several factors: expectations of continued Federal Reserve rate cuts, tariff uncertainty, policy volatility including threats to Fed independence and rising fiscal deficits, all of which have eroded investor confidence in U.S. economic stability. On Tuesday, the euro topped $1.2 for the first time since 2021, the pound hit 4-1/2-year highs, while the yen is set for its strongest monthly performance against the dollar since April, supported by speculation of joint Japanese-U.S. official intervention to support the Japanese currency. The euro was last down 0.8% at $1.1942. The Japanese yen has been a major beneficiary of the recent drop in the dollar, surging over 4% over the three sessions through Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Japanese currency was 0.9% lower against the dollar. Oil prices rose to their highest since late September ?on Wednesday after a winter storm disrupted U.S. crude production while a weak U.S. dollar and continued Kazakh outages ?lent further support. Brent crude futures were up 43 cents, or 0.64%, to $68 a barrel at 11:40 a.m. ET (1640 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 53 cents, or 0.85%, at $62.92.......