The Rupee closed stronger to its best one-day gain in nearly four months on Wednesday, powered by firm central bank intervention supporting the currency while traders also cited unwinding of bearish wagers on the currency. The local unit had touched a peak of 87.9250 in early trading after the Reserve Bank of India stepped in forcefully to curb pressure on the rupee across both the local spot and non-deliverable forwards market, traders said. Worries over the drag from steep U.S. trade tariffs, patchy foreign portfolio flows and a surge in precious metal prices had pinned the rupee close to its all-time low of 88.80 over the last two weeks but traders reckon that the pressure could ease following the central bank's intervention. The rupee had declined 2.8% over the year so far while India's balance of payments position stood at a surplus of $4.5 billion in the April-June quarter, compared with a surplus of $5.2 billion a year earlier. India's trade negotiation team is currently in Washington and to hold talks with U.S. officials, a senior trade official said on Wednesday. Elsewhere, the dollar index was down 0.2% at 98.8 after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell bolstered bets on a series of rate cuts in coming months. The U.S. dollar was broadly lower against major currencies on Wednesday with market sentiment weakened by the continuing trade kerfuffle between the U.S. and China. Traders perused comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for cues on upcoming rate cuts amid a U.S. government shutdown, which has hampered the timely release of key data. The dollar weakened 0.36% to 151.29 against the Japanese yen and was down 0.27% to 0.799 against the Swiss franc , on track for the second straight session of losses against both safe-haven currencies. The Chinese commerce ministry defended its export controls on rare-earth minerals, pointing to a series of U.S. measures on Chinese goods and companies and calling it hypocritical. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.33% to 98.74, on track for the second consecutive session of losses. Powell, who in a speech on Tuesday left the door open to rate cuts by saying the U.S. labor market remained mired in low-hiring, low-firing doldrums. He said the absence of official economic data due to the government shutdown has not prevented policymakers from being able to assess the economic outlook, at least for now. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 0.9 basis points to 4.013%. Wall Street stocks were higher as companies continued to report strong results as the quarterly earnings season kicked off. The euro rose 0.25% to $1.1635 after gaining 0.3% in the previous session, supported by the French government's proposal to suspend landmark pension reforms. The New Zealand dollar edged up only 0.24% to $0.5729, after dipping to a six-month low of $0.56839 on Tuesday. The Aussie climbed 0.54% to $0.652, after falling 0.5% a day earlier, when it touched the lowest since August 22 at $0.64405. Oil prices dipped on Wednesday, holding near a five-month low for a second day, pressured by escalating U.S.-China trade tensions and the International Energy Agency's prediction of a supply surplus in 2026. Brent crude futures fell 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $62.16 a barrel at 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $58.56. Both benchmarks were headed for their lowest closes since May 7 for a second day in a row.......