The Rupee opened marginally weaker on Thursday and remain range-bound, with persistent dollar demand ?from hedgers pressuring the currency while the central bank continues to ?limit its downside. For much of Wednesday, the rupee ?was mired in a narrow 3-4 paise range, with constant dollar ?supply from state-run banks, likely on behalf of the Reserve ?Bank of India. It staged a late mini-rally on further RBI dollar ?selling, before settling about 0.1% higher. The rupee and its Asian peers will see relief from a slight decline in expectations for a Federal Reserve ?rate hike next month following July U.S. inflation data that was ?largely ?in line with forecasts. Money markets price a 40% chance of a rate hike, down from 54% a week ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch. The dollar's advance stalled on Thursday after an overall benign U.S inflation reading overnight spurred traders to ?pare back bets for a near-term Federal Reserve interest rate hike. The greenback was little changed against the yen as of Asia's midday, but remained on course to gain about 1% this week as markets bought back the currency pair following recent joint U.S.-Japan intervention that saw it plummet ?to a three-month low. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against the yen and five other major peers, ?was flat at 100 on Thursday, but on course for a 0.4% weekly rise. U.S. consumer prices ?increased 0.1% in July, in line with economists' expectations, leading money markets to reduce the odds of a September rate ?hike to 40%, down from 54% a week ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch. The dollar changed hands at 159.44 yen , close to the 160 level that some market participants see as ?a line in the sand following the rare joint intervention at the end of July. The action helped pull the exchange rate down ?from near ?a four-decade peak close to 164 to 155.20 over the course of three days. The euro was little ?changed at $1.1523. Sterling ?edged down 0.05% to $1.3489 ahead of a slew of UK data due later in the day, including GDP. Oil prices fell more than $1 on Thursday as forecasters lowered global oil demand projections for 2026 because of the disruptions from the U.S.-Israeli ?war on Iran, though the supply constraints from the conflict provided a ?floor for the market. Brent futures dropped $1.29, or 1.5%, at $87.69 a barrel by 0100 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.30, or 1.6%, to $81.97.......
More