The Rupee opened stronger supported by the broad dollar weakness on diminishing odds of ?a Federal Reserve rate hike next month and Brent crude ?largely holding on to its recent decline. The currency on Wednesday climbed past the 95-per-dollar level for ?the first time in a month, before running into demand ?for dollars from companies and intraday speculative players. Volatility in oil prices ?added another layer of pressure on the rupee, which has now recovered ?about 1.7% from its recent lows. The rupee briefly weakened to nearly 95.25 during Wednesday's session before recovering. Wednesday was the kind of session that "was largely supportive of the rupee ?and kept the underlying bias positive," said a currency trader at ?a bank. Asian currencies inched higher against the dollar on Thursday, while the dollar index dipped to 99.64. Diminishing odds ?of a Fed ?rate hike next ?month, along with optimism surrounding a potential U.S.-Iran deal, weighed on the dollar. Oil prices fell on Thursday with ?investors assessing whether progress in Iran-Oman talks could ?pave the ?way for a U.S.-Iran peace agreement. urrency markets drifted on Thursday with the yen struggling to retain intervention gains and the dollar pinned near six-week lows, ?as concerns about a proposed U.S.-Iran deal and jitters about upcoming U.S. payroll data left traders cautious. The yen was little ?changed at 157.71 per dollar in early trade after weakening for two straight sessions. It has now given back some intervention gains after touching 155.20 per dollar on Monday, but remains well off last month's multi-decade low of about 164. The euro was little changed at $1.1557, and sterling traded flat at $1.3469. The New Zealand dollar and ?the Australian dollar were also flat, last trading at $0.5885 and $0.7056, respectively. The dollar index , which tracks the U.S. currency against six major ?peers, was little changed at 99.65, struggling to find direction while hovering near a six-week low. Brent crude futures fell 0.5% to $79.08 a barrel on Thursday, near the levels last seen when the U.S. and Iran signed an interim peace ?agreement in June.......
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