The Rupee opened stronger on Thursday, aided by a continued drop in oil prices ?below pre-Iran war levels, while Asian peers were under pressure from ?safe-haven dollar demand. The currency had been at risk of slipping ?past the 95 mark in the previous session before reversing course, supported by ?likely central bank intervention, while comments from Reserve Bank of India ?chief Sanjay Malhotra pulled forward premium levels lower. In Wednesday's session, the rupee had brushed ?aside the pressure seen across Asian peers, which were weighed down by expectations of ?higher U.S. interest rates. That trend is likely to persist in Thursday’s session, traders said, with most regional currencies extending losses, while the dollar index holds near multi-month highs. Wednesday's price action ?has compounded the impact of a further slide in oil prices, ?a currency trader at a bank said. The impact of the RBI intervention and lower oil prices ?are ?driving a decent uptick in the rupee at the open, he added. Brent crude fell more than 4% on Wednesday and dropped another 2% in Asian trading to $72.28, amid stranded tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz following an ?initial accord to end ?the U.S.-Israel ?conflict with Iran. A surging dollar has swept past chart resistance and is heading toward its sharpest monthly gain in almost a year on Thursday, as traders bet on a strong U.S. economy propping up short-term interest rates ?and waited on key inflation data. The dollar has broken the $1.14 level against the euro this week and ?hit its strongest in 13 months at $1.1325 overnight, before steadying in Asia at around $1.1353. At 161.73 yen , it is within a whisker of its highest in just over four decades on the struggling Japanese currency. Dollar strength has pushed gold below $4,000 an ounce for the first time in more ?than seven months and briefly sent bitcoin under $60,000 for the first time since 2024. The dollar index , which measures ?the currency against a basket of six major peers, made a 13-month peak at 101.8 ?overnight and started the Asia session steady around 101.6. The Iran war and jump in oil prices reversed market expectations for ?U.S. rate cuts this year and a surprisingly hawkish-sounding debut from Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair last week has traders ?pricing a U.S. hike as soon as October. Since the start of May, 2-year U.S. Treasury yields , which track short-term rates expectations, are up 27 basis points to 4.15% against a 7 bp fall in Europe's benchmark German 2-year yields to 2.56%. At the 10-year tenor the gap ?in favour of U.S. yields widened 20 bps in the same period to top 150 bps. The Aussie , ?down more than 1.8% for ?the week so far, was under pressure at $0.6890 ahead of May jobs data, where some reversal of April's weakness is expected. The New Zealand dollar , down 1.7% this week, sat at $0.5640, ?just above Wednesday's seven-month trough of $0.5631. Oil prices extended their decline on Thursday, edging closer to pre-war levels as stranded tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz following an initial accord to ?end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, easing supply concerns. Prompt-month Brent crude futures ?for August delivery fell 40 cents, or 0.54%, to $73.34 a barrel as of 0004 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 27 cents, or 0.38%, to $70.07 a barrel.......