The Rupee opened weaker past a near-term support level on Wednesday after U.S. inflation data lifted the dollar to a near one-month high, despite doing little to shift expectations on the Federal Reserve’s policy path. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated the rupee will open in the 90.26-90.30 range versus the U.S. dollar, having settled at 90.19 on Tuesday. Traders noted that the RBI had intervened heavily around those levels last Monday, and the currency once again found support in the same region on Tuesday likely on the back of dollar sales by the central bank. The dollar index inched higher in Asian trade, extending Tuesday's 0.3% advance. Headline U.S. inflation for December came in line with expectations, while the core measure was slightly softer than markets had priced in. The marginally softer core reading did little to alter expectations for the Fed's policy path, with markets still seeing the first rate cut of 2026 only around the June meeting, leaving the dollar largely supported. The key message is still a contained inflationary impact from tariffs at an aggregate level, while details were quite volatile and showed continued lingering signs of impact of data unavailability from the U.S. shutdown. The U.S. dollar recovered ground to near a one-month ?high in early Asian trade on Wednesday after U.S. CPI data that was broadly in line with estimates, firming up ?expectations that the Federal Reserve will remain on hold later this month despite unprecedented pressure from the White House to lower interest rates. On Tuesday, data showed U.S consumer prices increased 0.3% in December compared to the previous month, lifted by higher costs for rents and food as some of the distortions related to the government shutdown that had artificially lowered ?inflation in November unwound. The print cemented expectations the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged this month, with Fed funds futures currently pricing an ?implied 95.6% probability that the U.S. central bank will remain on hold when its next two-day meeting concludes on 28 January, unchanged from a day earlier, according ?to the ?CME Group's FedWatch tool. Against the yen , the U.S. dollar was last flat at 159.025 yen, little changed after the Reuters poll showed Japanese manufacturers' confidence slipped to a six-month low in January, albeit still in positive territory. The yen had ?earlier fallen to its weakest levels since January 2024 on speculation that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call parliamentary elections to consolidate her power. Against the Chinese yuan trading offshore in Hong Kong , the U.S. dollar was last flat at 6.9708 yuan ?ahead of the release of Chinese trade data for December in a few hours' time. The ?Australian dollar was last up 0.1% at $0.6688, while the New Zealand dollar nudged 0.1% upwards to $0.5740. The euro was last flat at $1.1642, while the British pound also held steady at $1.3423.......