Rupee drifts as oil dips; hawkish Fed risks, importer flows cap gains

The rupee traded at 94.40 per dollar, marginally lower than its previous close of 94.32, as importer hedging flows capped gains near its strongest level in over a month. Brent crude fell about 1.5% to $79.4 per barrel following U.S.-Iran peace talks that established a 60-day roadmap, well below the conflict-period peak of $126.4 hit in late April. However, hawkish Fed risks and HSBC's expectation of 50 basis points of RBI rate hikes in the second half of the year tempered hopes of a sustained relief rally for Asian currencies.