The rupee on Thursday lost 39 paise — its biggest single-day fall in three months — against the US dollar to close at 66.85 after the Army carried out “surgical strikes” last night on terror launchpads across the LoC. Overall sentiment turned highly volatile on fears that heightening tensions between India and Pakistan could put off foreign investors who have been pumping in funds.
The domestic unit commenced higher at 66.44 from last close of 66.46 and firmed up further to 66.42 on sustained selling of the greenback by exporters and banks. It remained under immense pressure throughout the day witnessing high amount of volatility and wide swings before recovering some ground to end at 66.85, showing a steep fall of 39 paise.