The Rupee opened slightly stronger on Thursday, helped by a pullback in oil prices that dragged down ?U.S. Treasury yields, a pressure point on the currency in ?recent sessions. Based on recent price action, any opening dip ?in dollar/rupee is likely to be bought into, an FX salesperson at ?a bank said, echoing bankers who have noted that the smallest of ?dips are drawing importers. Brent crude dropped 5.6% on Wednesday and was last hovering near the $105 a barrel level. Investors continued to monitor headlines for signs of progress in ?U.S. negotiations with Iran to resolve the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump said ?on Wednesday that negotiations were in the final stages while warning of further attacks ?unless ?a deal is made. The selloff in U.S. Treasuries on concerns that a higher inflation outlook could lead to a Federal Reserve rate hike, halted, following the drop in oil prices. The 10-year yield fell nearly 10 basis ?points on Wednesday to ?slip below ?the 4.60% level. Still, analysts cautioned that yields could rise further, adding pressure on the rupee and other emerging market ?currencies, with rates in Europe, the U.K. and Japan ?tracking ?the U.S. move. The U.S. dollar hovered below a six-week peak on ?Thursday after pulling back on rising hopes that Washington is nearing a deal with ?Tehran to end the war in the Middle East. The Australian dollar declined following a surprise rise in the unemployment rate to the highest since 2021, which lessened the case for higher interest rates. The ?dollar, a traditional safe haven, was down slightly at 158.87 yen in early Thursday trading ?after falling for the first time in eight sessions against the yen the day before. ?That pulls it further away from the 160 level viewed as a potential trigger for official currency intervention. The euro was steady at $1.1626 on Thursday, after dipping ?to ?the weakest since April 7 at $1.1583 in the previous session before bouncing back. The dollar index , which measures the currency against the euro, yen and four other rivals, was flat at 99.14 after touching 99.472 on Wednesday, the strongest level since April 7. At the same time, "while the U.S. has domestic political ?incentives to seek peace, we would not be surprised if President ?Trump chooses ?military escalation to gain leverage in negotiations," he said. Australia's dollar slid 0.5% to $0.7120. Sterling was little changed ?at $1.3433. Gold held steady on Thursday, as ?rising hopes of a U.S.-Iran peace deal countered fears of inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,534.69 per ounce, as of 0258 GMT. Bullion gained more than 1% on Wednesday after ?falling to its lowest level since March 30 earlier in the day.......
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