The Rupee closed flat as intermittent intervention by the Reserve Bank of India slowed the currency’s drift toward the psychologically important 91-per-dollar mark. Tepid global risk sentiment and steady hedging demand from importers have kept the currency tilted lower, even after it recovered from near-record lows around 92 following the announcement of the India-U.S. trade deal earlier this month. The rupee closed at 90.6725 per dollar on the day, nearly unchanged from its close at 90.65 on Monday. The currency lumbered in a narrow band through the day and was pulled in opposite directions by persistent interbank dollar demand and likely central bank presence in the market, traders said. India's benchmark equity indexes were a tad higher on Tuesday, tracking contained moves in regional stocks in holiday-thinned trading. Other Asian currencies were flat-to-modestly weaker while the dollar index firmed slightly. The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, as the greenback posted broad-based gains and domestic inflation data raised prospects the Bank of Canada would resume its interest rate cutting campaign. The loonie was trading 0.2% lower at 1.3655 per U.S. dollar, or 73.23 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since February 6 at 1.3692. The pound dropped on Tuesday after data showed Britain's unemployment rate rose to a five-year high in December while wage growth cooled, potentially adding to the case for further Bank of England rate cuts.Sterling was last down 0.55% against the dollar at $1.3555, its lowest since February 6, having traded at $1.3613 before the figures were released. Wage growth, excluding bonuses, slowed to 4.2% year-on-year in the three months including December, down from 4.4% in November. Regular private sector wage growth - which is closely watched by the BoE - slowed to 3.4% year-on-year, from 3.6%. The BoE expects inflation to slide to around its 2% target in April, pulled down by factors including Britain's regulated energy prices and policies in the November budget. Despite Tuesday's fall, the pound has risen around 0.6% this year against the dollar as the U.S. currency has suffered from the Trump administration's unpredictable economic policies and as the British economy has performed slightly better than expected. The dollar index , which measures its value against currencies of six of its trading partners, has stayed below 100 since November, has fallen 6.7% since Liberation Day, and slid to a four-year low in January. The dollar's biggest losses have been against the high-yielding Australian dollar this year, but it has fallen even against the otherwise weak Japanese yen . Oil prices fell about 2% to a two-week low on Tuesday on hopes tensions between the United States and Iran were easing after Iran's foreign minister said the countries had reached an understanding on the main "guiding principles" of their nuclear talks. Brent futures fell $1.41, or 2.1%, to $67.24 a barrel at 11:50 a.m. EST (1650 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 65 cents, or 1.0%, to $62.24 in volatile trading, putting both crude benchmarks on track for their lowest close since February 2. Earlier in the session WTI prices rose more than $1.......