Indian rupee, perched near record low, to remain under pressure

The Indian rupee, hovering near a record low, is expected to remain under pressure amid focus on crude oil prices and the US Federal Reserve's policy decision.

Non-deliverable forwards indicate rupee will open at around 22.683-22.694 to the UAE dirham compared with 22.688 in the previous session.

The local currency is within a whisker of the lifetime low of 22.694.

"You can make out from the price action that we are headed lower (on the rupee)", a forex dealer at a bank said.

"Let's see how swiftly (the record low) is taken out," another trader said, adding that the rupee is likely to hold a negative tone through the session.

A few traders reckoned that it was possible that the Reserve Bank of India may have intervened in NDF market to defend the rupee.

Brent crude dropped below $94 in Asia, off the fresh year-to-date high it made on Tuesday of $95.96. The dollar index was down a tad at 105.08 and Asian currencies were mostly in a narrow range ahead of the Fed decision.

The Fed on Wednesday is widely expected to keep the policy rate unchanged with futures assigning a near zero percent probability of a rate hike.

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