Rupee falls 7ps to 85.40/$

Mumbai: The rupee pared its initial gains and settled for the day lower by 7paise at 85.40 against the US dollar on Friday, amid heightened geopolitical tensions and a negative trend in the domestic markets. Forex traders said escalated geopolitical tensions, following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir weighed on market sentiment. Moreover, a muted trend in domestic equities and positive US dollar index dented investors’ sentiment further. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.17 and moved between the intra-day high of 85.08 and the low of 85.65 against the greenback. The unit ended the session at 85.40, registering a fall of 7paise over its previous closing level. On Thursday, the rupee gained 12paise to close at 85.33 against the US dollar. “We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias amid heightened geopolitical tensions and weak tone in the domestic markets. However, persistent FII inflows, overall weakness in the US dollar may prevent a sharp fall in the rupee. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 85 to 85.90,” said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan. On Tuesday, at least 26 persons -- mostly tourists -- were killed by terrorists at the Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam in one of the worst terror attacks on civilians in Kashmir in the past many years.