Rupee lower; market to be flows driven

Rupee opens lower, in line with weakness in most Asian FX as US fiscal impasse looms, dealer says. The pair at 55.07/08 versus 54.95/96 Monday close.

"The market being illiquid it won't trade on fundamentals with flows dominating," says foreign bank dealer, who expects the rupee to trade in 54.95-55.35 band in the session.

Most Asian currencies including rupiah, peso, Sing dollar trading softer.

The Dollar Index trading at 79.703, up 0.09 pct, after it rose as high as 79.780 on Tuesday.

The yen sank to a 20-month low in Asian trading on Wednesday, as Shinzo Abe prepared to assume Japan's helm with a mandate to weaken its currency and push for more drastic monetary and fiscal stimulus.