NEW DELHI: The rupee on Friday opened 7 paise lower at 71.27 against the US dollar amid buying in the greenback by banks and importers.

The domestic unit had gained 7 paise on Thursday after the RBI left the policy rate unchanged while maintaining its accommodative stance.

“Today, dollar-rupee pair is expected to quote in the range of 71.05 and 71.50,” Motilal Oswal Financial Services said.

On Thursday, The MPC addressed growth concerns by tweaking the liquidity framework, providing long-term refinancing operations and incentivising credit to select sectors.
It revised the CPI inflation projection for the second half of 2019-20 to 5.1-4.7 per cent from 3.5-3.7 per cent forecast at its October meeting.

Earlier in the day, dollar rose against its major crosses for the second successive session after private payroll number released earlier this week came in better-than-estimates. For the day, market participants will be keeping an eye on the non-farm payrolls number and better-than-expected number could extend gains for the currency.

On the other hand, British pound fell to the lowest level in six-weeks on persistent worries about negotiations between Britain and the European union for a post-Brexit trade deal.