The Rupee opened stronger on Tuesday, supported by the rise in most Asian currencies, though traders say ?the currency's underlying bias has weakened markedly in recent sessions. The rupee's recovery toward the 94-per-dollar ?level, helped by the decline in oil prices and steps taken by ?the Reserve Bank of India to draw in dollar flows, appears to have ?run its course, with the currency back on the defensive, traders said. Routine dollar demand from importers, expectations that the Federal Reserve could still raise rates later this year, and arbitrage-related ?flows have weighed on the rupee. The dollar index, which had rallied on ?the back of Federal Reserve rate-hike expectations, has cooled following a softer-than-expected U.S. June jobs ?report. The rupee will likely look to RBI support to help stem depreciation pressures. The central ?bank has been selling dollars at various levels and ?may have ?intervened through state-run banks near the 95.50 level in Monday's session. The yen weakened anew on ?Tuesday as traders grew emboldened to push the currency lower with no sign yet ?of intervention by Japanese authorities, though the risk of a surprise yen-buying move by Tokyo kept losses in check. The yen struggled on the weaker side of 162 per dollar in early Asia trade and languished near its lowest level against ?the British pound since 2007 at 217.09 , having slid to a new low overnight. The euro ?last bought 185.47 yen , following a 0.5% rise in the previous session. The euro edged a touch higher to $1.1442, extending gains from overnight, while sterling rose to a more than two-week high of $1.34005. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was last at 100.86. In other currencies, the Australian ?dollar steadied at $0.6955, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.02% to $0.5702. Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, but gains were limited as traders looked beyond easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and turned their attention to ?supply increases and demand prospects. Brent crude futures gained 28 cents, or 0.39%, ?to $72.29, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $68.84 a barrel, up 29 cents, or 0.26% as of 0046 GMT, after settling down to around pre-Iran war levels on Monday.......
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