MUMBAI, Jan 10 Reuters The Indian rupee is poised to open higher against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, tracking more broad losses on the greenback, as traders bet that the Federal Reserve could opt for smaller interest rate hikes.

The rupee will likely open at around 82.2582.30. The local currency ended at 82.36 on Monday, marking its best session in two months.

The rupee had the tailwind of a struggling dollar, but we do not think it will be enough to take it above the 82level, a trader at a Mumbaibased bank said. In fact, USDINR could run into a mountain of support at around 82.20 itself, he added.

The dollar index dropped below 103 overnight to its lowest level since June, extending its U.S. jobs dataprompted slide. The reading showed a slowdown in wage growth, which fuelled hopes that inflation is slowing down and the Fed would dial back on its hawkish stance.

ING Bank said in a note that after the U.S. jobs data, Fed futures have reverted to pricing in a peak rate of less than 5. The current implied peak comes in June this year at 4.93.

The focus now shifts to Fed Chair Jerome Powell39;s speech later in the day and to the critical U.S. inflation on Thursday.

Fed policymakers said on Monday the inflation data will help them decide whether they can slow the pace of interest rate hikes at their upcoming meeting to 25 basis points. 

Meanwhile, Asian currencies were trading mostly higher, but the advance was more muted than on Monday. Asian shares were mixed, while…