MUMBAI, Jan 11 Reuters The Indian rupee ended little changed against the dollar on Thursday, ahead of the key U.S. inflation data that could potentially help investors reassess the outlook for interest rates in the world39;s largest economy.

The rupee was at 83.0275 to the dollar compared with 83.0250 in the previous session.

The rupee had, in intraday trades, risen to a near onemonth high of 82.9350 on dollar sales by certain foreign banks pertaining to custodial and positional flows, traders said.

Despite the dollar inflows, the rupee needs to close convincingly above 83 to confirm a change in trend, said Jigar Trivedi, senior research analyst currencies and commodities at Reliance Securities.

The role of the Reserve Bank of India RBI will be important in terms of how these flows are managed, Trivedi added.

U.S. inflation data, due later in the day, is expected to show headline consumer prices rose 0.2 monthonmonth in December and 3.2 for the 12month period.

The core measure is likely to have increased 0.3. On a yearonyear basis, core prices are estimated to have increased by 3.8, compared to a 4 rise in November, providing more evidence of easing inflation.

Investors have priced in a total of 140 basis points of rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2024, nearly double what the central bank indicated in its dot plot in December.

However, a few economists reckon investors39; expectations may be a tad optimistic.

While we may not see a big jump in the…