Rupee rises 4 paise to settle at 85.69 against U.S. dollar

The Hindu

2 days ago

The rupee pared initial gains and settled for the day higher by 4 paise at 85.69 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Thursday (July 10, 2025), supported by U.S.-India trade deal optimism, even as domestic equity markets were closed in the negative territory.
Forex traders said the Indian rupee ended the day in the green against the U.S. dollar amid firm expectations that India and the U.S. will reach a deal soon.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a positive note at 85.62 against the U.S. dollar and traded in a range of 85.69 and 85.53 during the day. The local unit finally settled for the day at 85.69 (provisional), up 4 paise from its previous close.
On Wednesday (July 9, 2025), the rupee closed flat at 85.73 against the U.S. dollar.
According to a government official, an Indian commerce ministry team will soon visit Washington for another round of talks on the proposed trade agreement with the U.S. to iron out differences in sectors like agriculture and automobiles.
The dates for the U.S. visit have not been finalised yet. However, the team is expected to visit Washington next week.
'We are not differentiating between an interim or the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. We are negotiating a complete deal. Whatever will be finished, we can package it as an interim deal and for the rest, talks will continue,' the official said.
This visit is significant as the U.S. has further extended the imposition of additional import duties (in the case of India, it is 26%) till August 1. India is seeking the removal of this additional tariff.
India is also seeking the easing of tariffs on steel and aluminium (50%) and the auto (25%) sectors. Against these, India has reserved its right under the World Trade Organization (WTO) norms to impose retaliatory duties.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.34% to $69.95 per barrel in futures trade.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.15% to 97.41. On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex dropped 345.80 points or 0.41%, to settle at 83,190.28, while the Nifty lost 120.85 points or 0.47%, to close at 25,355.25.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth ₹77 crore on a net basis on Wednesday (July 10, 2025), according to exchange data.