CURRENCY OVERVIEW

 The Rupee opened stronger on Thursday, boosted by the dollar's tumble to multi-year lows after U.S. President Trump renewed his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and reportedly floated plans of his early replacement.Unless the USD/INR pair decisively breaks below the 85.80–85.90 region on flows, it will likely stay rangebound with broad dollar cues largely immaterial.  The dollar index dipped in Asia, heading for its sixth straight daily decline. The euro, which has the highest weightage in the dollar index, hit a multi-year high against the dollar, boosted by NATO developments. Concerns about the future independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve weighed on the dollar. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump had toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Fed Chair Powell's replacement by September or October. Trump on Wednesday called Powell "terrible" for not lowering interest rates sharply, while the Fed chair was telling the Senate that policy had to be cautious with the President's tariff plans posing a risk to inflation. The dollar slipped to multi-year lows against the euro and Swiss franc on Thursday as concerns about the future independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve undermined faith in the soundness of the country's monetary policy. According to a Wall Street Journal report, U.S. President Donald Trump had toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October, aiming to undermine his position. Markets have nudged up the chance of a rate cut at the Fed's next meeting in July to 25%, from just 12% a week ago, and are pricing in 64 basis points of cuts by year-end, up from around 46 basis points last Friday. For now, though, the dollar was under broad pressure as the euro gained 0.4% to $1.1710 , its highest since September 2021. The break of resistance at $1.1692 opened the way to the next chart target up at $1.1909. Sterling rose 0.3% to $1.3723, its highest since January 2022, while the dollar was at its lowest in more than a decade on the Swiss franc at 0.8030 . The franc also struck a record peak on the yen around 180.55. The dollar lost 0.4% on the yen to 144.62 , while the dollar index sank to its lowest since early 2022 at 97.401 . Trump's chaotic tariff policies are also coming back into focus as the clock ticks down to his July 9 deadline for trade deals. JPMorgan on Wednesday warned the hit from tariffs would slow U.S. economic growth and lift inflation, resulting in a 40% chance of a recession. Oil prices inched higher, extending gains from the previous day as a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stocks signalled firm demand, while investors remained cautious about the Iran-Israel ceasefire and stability in the Middle East. Brent crude futures rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $67.83 a barrel by 0330 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $65.12 a barrel.