MUMBAI, Feb 7 Reuters The Indian rupee is expected to open little changed to the dollar on Tuesday with a focus on surging Treasury yields and a crucial support level.

The nondeliverable forward suggests that the rupee will open at around 82.6882.74, compared with 82.7250 in the previous session.

The rupee on Monday suffered its worst session in four months on worries that the betterthanexpected U.S. jobs report may prompt the Fed to raise its terminal rate and that rates could remain higher for longer.

With Treasury yields marching up and the upward momentum on the dollar index staying intact, the rupee is likely to face a tough session, a trader at a private sector bank said. However, markets are likely to respect the 82.9083.00 range, a level at which the Reserve Bank of India has previously intervened, the trader said.

The implications of Friday39;s U.S. jobs report continued to be felt in U.S. bonds and the dollar. The 2year U.S. yield climbed 16 basis points overnight, adding to its 20 bps jump in the previous session. The dollar index reached 103.50, its highest in almost a month.

Interest rate traders have pushed up the Federal Reserve terminal rate expectations to 5.12 and have fully priced in a 25 basis points rate hike at the March meeting. . Further, the odds of another 25 bps rate hike in May have reached 75, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

All eyes are now on Fed Chair Jerome Powell39;s speech later in the day.

Market participants gear up to a…