MUMBAI, April 12 Reuters The Indian rupee made slim gains against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as the greenback slipped ahead of a crucial U.S. inflation report that could influence the Federal Reserve39;s next policy move.

The rupee was trading at 82.0750 per dollar by 1044 a.m. IST compared with 82.1250 in the previous session.

Asian currencies were mostly higher, while the dollar index extended losses ahead of March U.S. consumer price index data. Core CPI, in focus, likely rose by 0.4 monthonmonth in March, according to economists polled by Reuters.

That would be down from the 0.5 increase in February, but well above the pace required for bringing annual inflation to Fed39;s 2 target. Headline inflation is expected to rise 0.2.

Following the robust jobs report, investors have increased their bets of a 25 bps points hike by the Fed at the May meeting to 70.

There is a lot of risk ahead of the event as this is the last major data release before the Fed39;s May 23 meeting, said Gaurang Somaiya, FX and bullion analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

A soft inflation reading has been priced in by the markets, but in case of slightly contrary data, there could be a major reaction.

India39;s headline inflation probably eased in March to 5.80, dipping below the Reserve Bank of India39;s upper tolerance limit of 6 for the first time this year, according to a Reuters poll.

The data, also due later in the day, follows the RBI39;s surprise move last week to hold…