The Rupee opened unchanged at Tuesday's open to the slide in the dollar index and strength in the yuan, with traders expecting a repeat of the previous session's price action in which corporate activity weighed on the currency. The rupee dipped in Monday's session despite a mostly struggling dollar, with bankers attributing it to hedging activity and the usual local flows that worked against the currency. The rupee has been in the 90.04–90.84 range since the US-India trade deal was announced about a week ago. In a positive for the rupee, there are tentative signs of a turnaround in equity flows. Foreign investors bought about $250 million of Indian shares on Monday, according to preliminary data, taking total purchases for the month to around $1.5 billion. That contrasts with roughly $4 billion of outflows seen in January. The dollar index dropped 0.76% on Monday and dipped more in Tuesday's Asia session amid strength in the yuan and the Japanese yen. The offshore Chinese yuan climbed to 6.9050 to the U.S. dollar, the highest level in two-and-a-half years. Investor focus this week will be on U.S. employment and consumer price data, delayed slightly by the recently concluded three-day U.S. federal shutdown. The U.S. dollar nursed steep losses on Tuesday ahead of a slate of economic data that will shape the interest rate path, while the yen held on to its gains in the wake of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's resounding election victory. Sterling was steady in early Asian hours after a volatile Monday as investors weighed the crisis facing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and rising wages of further rate cuts. It last fetched $1.3682 after rising 0.6% in the previous session. The Japanese yen was at 155.85 per U.S. dollar, holding onto its overnight gains when it firmed 0.8%. Verbal warnings from authorities on Monday had helped strengthen the yen after the currency weakened in the immediate reaction to Takaichi's victory. While the yen had retraced some of its recent losses against other currencies, on Tuesday it was back on a weakening trend against the Swiss franc and the euro . The euro eased a bit to $1.19 after a 0.85% jump on Monday. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six other units, was at 96.952, hovering near a one-week low. Analysts said media reports that China has urged local banks to diversify from U.S. Treasuries led to some dollar weakness. Investor focus this week will be on the monthly reports on U.S. employment and consumer prices that were pushed back slightly due to the recently ended three-day government shutdown. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday that U.S. job gains could be lower in the coming months due to slower labour force growth and higher productivity. Investors are trying to assess whether weakening in the labour market has tapered off. Traders are still pricing in two rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, with the first one expected in June, although markets remain on tenterhooks ahead of a potential shift in U.S. policy stance following the nomination of Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair. Oil prices eased slightly on Tuesday as traders gauged the potential for supply disruptions after U.S. guidance for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz kept attention squarely on tensions between Washington and Tehran. Brent crude oil futures were down 18 cents, or 0.26%, at $68.85 a barrel by 0353 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 21 cents, or 0.33%, to $64.15.......