Rupee Settles Flat At 85.40/$

Mumbai: The rupee pared losses and settled on a flat note at 85.40 against the US dollar in a volatile trade on Wednesday amid rising crude oil prices and a negative trend in domestic equi-ties. Forex traders said increased month-end dollar demand added strength to the American cur-rency, keeping the local unit under pressure, while investors also moved cautiously awaiting cues from domestic macroeconomic data. India’s industrial production data for April will be released later in the day, while the GDP growth figures for the first quarter of FY26 are sched-uled to be announced on Friday. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.59 and moved between an intraday high of 85.33 and a low of 85.72 against the greenback. The local unit ended the session at 85.40 against the dollar, unchanged from its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee closed 30 paise lower at 85.40 against the greenback. According to Ja-teen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, the rupee traded flat as the dollar index remained steady. “With major economic data lined up this week -- in-cluding the US Fed meeting minutes, Q1 GDP, and Core PCE Price Index -- the rupee’s trajecto-ry will largely be guided by foreign fund activity in the secondary markets.