MUMBAI: The Indian rupee is likely to open little changed on Thursday after the mostly dovish US Federal Reserve minutes failed to lift Asian peers.

The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated that the rupee will open barely changed from 83.9225 in the previous session.

The recent relief for the rupee proved short lived with the local currency now back to within spitting distance of the lifetime low of 83.9725.

The rupee, having managed to climb to 83.7550 on Tuesday, has come under renewed pressure amid hedging by importers and lacklustre portfolio flows.

Indian rupee worst Asia performer

The local currency on Wednesday declined 0.16%, its worst day in nearly two months. “Yesterday’s move would not have been expected by most. It’s just more evidence of the extent of the underlying dollar demand,” a currency trader at a bank said.

The near-term bias on the rupee is on the downside “or at least that it will hold near to 84”, he said.

The Reserve Bank of India has been intervening regularly across various markets to prevent the rupee from dipping past 84.