The Rupee opened steady on Tuesday, with traders expecting the currency to remained anchored to familiar ranges. Asian currencies slipped on Tuesday, extending the previous day’s losses with weak risk appetite keeping investors on the defensive. A roughly 1% drop in U.S. equities on Monday boosted demand for the safe-haven dollar. The central bank’s defence of the 88.80 zone has been a constant feature in recent sessions, effectively preventing a break lower in the rupee. Yet the currency hasn’t shown much follow-through on the higher side either, leading to a prolonged spell of rangebound moves. India’s historically high trade deficit, released on Monday, failed to move the needle on the rupee, barring a few paisa of intraday wobble. The yen slid to its weakest level in more than nine months in early Asian trading on Tuesday as the dollar benefited from receding expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates at its policy meeting next month. The U.S. dollar edged as much as 0.1% higher against the yen to 155.29, the Japanese currency's weakest level since February 4 this year, ahead of the release of delayed U.S payrolls data for September due on Thursday. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 43% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the U.S. central bank's next meeting on December 10, down from a 62% chance a week ago and expectations that a cut was a near-certainty a month ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. The dollar index , a measure of the U.S. currency against major rivals, was last up 0.2% at 99.545, snapping a four-day losing streak to reclaim a one-week high. The U.S. labor market is in a "sluggish" state with firms hesitant to hire amid broad shifts in economic policy and interest in how artificial intelligence might be a substitute for new hiring, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Monday. Investor confidence took a hit overnight, pulling down all three major U.S. stock indexes. The yield on the U.S. two-year Treasury bond was last down 0.2 basis point at 3.6039%, while the yield on the 10-year note was last up 0.6 basis point at 4.1366%. The euro was trading flat at $1.1594 , around the weakest level of the week after its losing streak extended into a third day. Sterling was at $1.3149 , also edging 0.1% lower for a third consecutive day. The Australian dollar fetched $0.6493 , 0.1% weaker, while the kiwi was unchanged at $0.56535 . Oil prices dipped on Tuesday as supply concerns eased with the resumption of loadings at a Russian export hub, briefly halted by a Ukrainian drone and missile strike, while traders continued to assess the impact of Western sanctions on Russian flows. Brent crude futures were down 28 cents, or 0.4%, at $63.92 a barrel, as of 0100 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 26 cents, or 0.4%, at $59.65 a barrel.......