The Rupee opened flat on Friday and in the near term, aided by improving flows ?and sentiment buffing it up against a Federal Reserve-driven dollar rally. Daily flows have turned more ?constructive for the rupee in recent days, bankers said. They ?pointed to a surge in inflows into Indian bonds, a moderation ?in foreign equity outflows, and more two-way activity from importers and exporters, ?though activity still tilts more towards hedging by importers. This marks a shift from the one-way dollar demand, driven largely by importer buying and sustained foreign outflows that had kept the rupee under ?pressure for several weeks. India's steps to attract dollar inflows, alongside a ?plunge in crude oil prices after the U.S.-Iran peace deal, have helped rebalance flows. The rupee's rally faces a test from a ?resurgent dollar after ?the Fed's hawkish ?tilt spurred bets on rate hikes and sent the dollar index to a one-year high. Updated interest rate projections showed nearly half of ?policymakers now expect a hike this year due to concerns around ?inflation. The yen was pinned near four-decade lows on Friday, with markets on heightened intervention watch ?as neither a U.S.-Iran peace deal nor a rate hike in Japan managed to arrest its prolonged slide. The Japanese currency edged up ?0.2% against the U.S. dollar at 161.12 yen, steadying after dropping to a two-year low on Thursday, though holidays in the U.S. and much of Asia kept liquidity thin. The British pound was steady at $1.3202 after Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham triumphed in a by-election in Makerfield, setting ?the stage for a likely challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership of the ruling Labour Party. Other currencies were largely steady. The U.S. dollar index , which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, held at 100.82 after climbing to a one-year high on Thursday, supported by more hawkish rhetoric from new Fed Chair Kevin ?Warsh. The euro was flat at $1.1457. The Australian dollar slipped ?0.1% to $0.7011, while its kiwi counterpart held steady, fetching $0.5752. Oil prices fell on Friday as prospects brightened for more supply after oil tankers began moving ?through the reopening Strait of Hormuz following a peace deal between the ?United States and Iran.Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.54%, to $79.42 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 17 cents, or 0.22%, to $76.43 a barrel, with the front-month July contract ?expiring on Monday.......
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