The Indian rupee was relatively unchanged on Wednesday, tracking the rangebound price action in most of its Asian peers, while the dollar-rupee overnight swap rate remained under pressure, signalling a potential crunch for cash dollars, traders said.

The rupee was at 83.0175 against the U.S. dollar as of 10:30 a.m. IST, barely changed from its previous close at 83.0350.

The dollar index was steady at 103.8, after climbing to a near three-week high on Tuesday. Asian currencies were mostly rangebound as markets awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision due later in the day.

While the Fed is widely expected to keep rates unchanged, investors will be watching for any changes to the interest rate dot plot and commentary from Chair Jerome Powell.

The rupee is likely to hover close to the 83 handle through the day's session, a foreign exchange trader at a foreign bank said.

"Don't expect any dovishness (from the Fed)", but if the dot plot goes down to two cuts, the rupee could face pressure, the trader added.

In December, the U.S. central bank's dot plot had signalled that policymakers expect three cuts of 25 basis points each over 2024.

Meanwhile, the dollar-rupee overnight swap rate hit an intraday low of 0.04 paisa before recovering slightly, signalling a shortage of cash dollars.

Traders pointed to cash dollar demand for defence and oil-related payments and the RBI's intervention to mop up inflows as reasons driving the dollar crunch.

"The rupee seems to be struggling a bit against the dollar this week ... (but) strategically. There's optimism that the rupee will resume its appreciation trajectory," Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex said. (Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Sohini Goswami)