The Rupee opened slightly stronger on Wednesday, supported by a hike in import duties on gold and silver, though ?oil prices and a rise in U.S. inflation are expected to ?limit upside. India hiked import tariffs on gold and silver to 15% from ?6% to rein in purchases and support the rupee, which has ?been pressured by a spike in oil prices amid the ?Iran war. The increases are likely to curb demand, help narrow a trade ?deficit set to widen due to higher oil prices, and offer slight relief ?to the rupee, which has dropped by over 5% since the Iran war began. India is the world's second-largest consumer of precious metals. The step followed India's Prime Minister Narendra ?Modi, urging citizens to avoid gold purchases for a year to help ?protect foreign exchange reserves. After Modi's speech and recent reports suggesting steps to support the ?rupee, some ?form of measures were expected, a currency trader at a bank said. U.S. consumer ?inflation rose further in April, with the annual rate posting its largest increase in three years. US headline inflation ?rose to 3.8% year-on-year, driven by the surge in energy ?costs. Following ?the data, investors priced out the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate cut through December 2027, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to 4.47%. Meanwhile, Brent ?crude hovered ?near $107, with investors awaiting developments on the ?fragile ceasefire in the Iran war, while U.S. President Donald Trump headed to China for a ?high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping. The dollar held near a one-week high on Wednesday as risk sentiment soured after a hot U.S. inflation reading sent Treasury yields higher, and oil inched ?up on renewed Middle East uncertainty. The euro stood at $1.1735 and the sterling traded at $1.3532 , ?both down roughly 0.05% against the greenback in early Asia trades. The U.S. dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was steady at 98.335, near the strongest level in a week. Oil prices settled higher, with Brent crude futures last traded near $108 a barrel. The U.S. two-year ?note ?yield, which typically moves in step with Federal Reserve interest rate expectations, rose to 3.9956%. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes climbed to 4.4688%. Markets have largely priced out any chance of a rate cut from the Fed this year, while expectations for a hike of at least 25 basis ?points at the central ?bank's December meeting rose ?to 35%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. The Australian dollar fetched $0.72365 , and the New Zealand dollar traded at $0.5954 , both largely flat. The Japanese yen was largely ?steady at 157.715, after a sudden move stronger on Tuesday had stoked ?speculation of a "rate ?check" by authorities, which is often a precursor to currency intervention.......