The Rupee opened slightly weaker on Thursday, extending the previous session's rally, helped by a pullback in ?oil prices. However, bankers cautioned that crude has recovered from its ?lows, while uncertainty over whether current U.S.–Iran optimism will translate into a breakthrough is likely to cap the rupee's upside. U.S. equities rallied on Wednesday, while U.S. Treasury ?yields and the ?dollar dropped. A "large part" ?of the optimism around a potential U.S.–Iran deal was priced in late yesterday, a currency trader at a private ?sector bank said. From here, it’s about incremental headlines, ?he added. Oil ?near $100 is "still too high", and for the rupee to see sustained relief, that would need to be corrected, he said. A pullback in oil prices would offer ?much-needed ?relief for oil-importing India and the rupee. ?The run-up over the past two months has prompted economists to lower rupee forecasts, revise inflation ?expectations higher, and downgrade growth outlooks. The dollar remained on the defensive on ?Thursday as hopes for a de-escalation in the Iran- U.S war supported oil-exposed currencies, while Tokyo ?resumed its verbal intervention in support of the yen keeping speculators cautious. Iran said on Wednesday it was reviewing a U.S. peace proposal that sources indicated would formally end the war but leave unresolved key U.S. demands that Iran ?suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That left the dollar index back at 97.950 and well short of last week's top of 99.092. The pullback in oil had boosted the euro, given the continent is far more reliant on imported oil than the United States, and it was ?0.1% firmer at $1.1757 having ?touched a two-week top ?of $1.1797 overnight. The yen had gotten a further lift from speculation the Japanese authorities had intervened on Wednesday to buy the currency, sending the dollar ?as low as 155.00 at one stage. The dollar was last trading at ?156.15, with dealers ?on guard after Japan's top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said the country was not restricted on intervention. Oil prices rose over $1 on Thursday, rebounding from the previous day's sharp losses, as investors weighed ?the prospects of a Middle East peace deal succeeding. Brent crude futures were up 78 cents, or 0.8%, at $102.05 a barrel at 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 76 cents, or 0.8%, to $95.84 a barrel.......
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