The Rupee opened weaker on Thursday, pressured by equity outflows and soft Asian cues, while expectation around ?steps to support the currency may offer relief. A pickup in equity outflows and fading hopes of a ?U.S.-Iran detente have put the rupee back on the back ?foot. A prolonged war in the Middle East is a key risk for net ?energy importer India. Foreign investors pulled nearly $600 million from Indian equities on Wednesday, ?per preliminary data, after about $3 billion of outflows in the prior three days. The pace of June outflows has already nearly matched May's total. The combination of equity outflows and ?what appears to be the most serious flare-up since the U.S.-Iran ?ceasefire reignited the uptrend in dollar/rupee, a currency trader at a private sector bank ?said. The ?rupee, however, may be supported by expectations of measures to bolster the currency amid the fallout from the U.S.-Iran conflict, the possibility of which has been speculated over by market participants for several weeks. Meanwhile, most Asian currencies weakened and ?regional equities slipped. Renewed U.S.-Iran fighting rattled risk assets, ?while ?mixed signals on de-escalation kept investors wary. Israel and Lebanon agreeing a ceasefire could potentially open the door for talks to advance, ING Bank said in ?a ?note, pointing out that Iran has been adamant ?that any ceasefire with the U.S. is dependent on a halt in fighting in Lebanon. The dollar clung to its recent strength near a two-month high on Thursday as fresh Gulf hostlities sent oil prices higher and sapped risk appetite, while the Japanese ?yen hovered near the key 160 level that kept traders on intervention alert. The euro stood at $1.1604 , and ?the British pound traded at $1.3424 , both largely flat so far in Asia. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar ?was steady at $0.7132, and the New Zealand dollar rose 0.2% to $0.5872 to rebound from ?a one-week low. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the ?yen and the euro, was a shade higher at 99.47, after hitting the strongest level since April ?7 in previous session. The Japanese yen fetched 159.91 per dollar, off lows on Wednesday that pushed it past the critical 160-per-dollar mark for the first time since April 30, triggering verbal warnings from authorities. The 160 level is ?widely seen in markets ?as a line in ?the sand for potential official intervention. Oil prices eased on Thursday as Israel and Lebanon's ceasefire agreement boosted hopes for a ?broader deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, while ?the U.S. House approved a resolution seeking to curb President Donald Trump's war powers. Brent futures were down 67 cents, or 0.69%, at $97.14 a barrel by 0015 ?GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 crude fell 62 ?cents, or 0.65%, to $95.4.......