Indian rupee higher; oil bids may support pair

The rupee is higher in early trades at 54.45 compared with its previous close of 54.58/59, tracking positive regional currencies.

Pair may found some support from buying by oil companies with a 54.25-54.55 band tipped for the day.

Foreign funds have been sellers in Indian equities and debt for most of April after heavy purchases earlier in the year.

The yen bobbed around a nearly four-year low against the dollar on Wednesday, with strategists expecting the Japanese currency to break below the 100-yen level on the burst of momentum created by the Bank of Japan's most ambitious monetary expansion campaign announced last week.