The Rupee opened stronger as the currency which has relied on Reserve Bank of India support to hold a key level, looks set to draw relief on Thursday from a broader rally in Asian currencies that has lifted the offshore yuan to a three-year high. The rupee has managed to hold above the 91-per-dollar level largely due to RBI intervention, with traders citing state-run bank dollar sales near that mark. While the sustained defence of 91 has, in a way, managed short-term expectations, it reflects structural pressure on the rupee from ongoing corporate dollar demand and lacklustre portfolio inflows, bankers say. Considering the way the rupee has been trading lately, it's hard to see much follow-through after the initial uptick, a currency trader at a bank said. The offshore yuan climbed past 6.84 per dollar for the first time in nearly three years, buoying other Asian currencies. The rally came despite the People's Bank of China setting the daily midpoint at 6.9228 per dollar, which is 623 pips weaker than market estimates, marking the largest negative deviation on record. The dollar index dipped amid the yuan rally and pressured by the U.S. tariff turmoil. The U.S. tariff rate for some countries will rise to 15% or higher from the newly imposed 10%, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday, without naming any specific trading partners or providing further details. The U.S. began collecting a temporary new 10% import tariff on Tuesday, while the Trump administration was working to increase it to 15%, a White House official said, sowing confusion over President Donald Trump's tariff policies after last week's Supreme Court defeat. The dollar began the day on the back foot during the Asian trading session on Thursday, as better-than-expected earnings from Nvidia boosted investor confidence and markets awaited details of the latest U.S. tariffs on imports of foreign goods. The U.S. dollar index , which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, held losses from Wednesday's session, edging down to 97.592 as uncertainty persisted over how U.S. President Donald Trump would respond to the Supreme Court's ruling on February 20 that struck down his emergency tariffs. The yen was last 0.2% stronger against the dollar at 156.045, clawing back some lost ground after the Japanese currency hit its weakest levels in two weeks on Wednesday. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond was last up 0.2 basis point at 4.048% Financial markets continue to believe almost unanimously U.S. interest rates are going nowhere at the Federal Reserve's next meeting. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 98% probability the U.S. central bank will keep rates on hold at its next two-day meeting on 18 March, little changed from a day earlier, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. Against the Chinese yuan , in offshore trade the U.S. dollar was last flat at 6.854 yuan, the strongest levels for the Chinese currency in three years. The euro was last flat at $1.1815, while the British pound was also little changed at $1.3555. The Australian dollar was steady at $0.7127, while the New Zealand dollar briefly slipped below the $0.60 mark against its U.S. counterpart before recovering, last trading flat at $0.6001. Oil prices climbed on Thursday, hovering near seven-month highs, as investors gauged whether U.S.-Iran talks could avert a military conflict that risks supply disruptions, though gains were capped by a build in U.S. crude inventories. Brent futures were trading at $71.12 per barrel, up 27 cents, or 0.3%, at 0123 GMT. WTI futures rose 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $65.65.......