The Indian rupee dropped 7 paise to settle at 89.43 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, tracking a strong greenback and a rise in crude oil prices in the international market. Besides, subdued equity market sentiment and the withdrawal of foreign funds, weighed on the local unit. Local shares gave up early gains to end marginally lower on Friday as traders took profits in key sectors after recent gains to record highs. The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session down 13.71 points at 85,706.67, erasing morning losses. The broader NSE Nifty index slipped 12.60 points to 26,202.95 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes ended down around 0.1 percent each. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.41 and touched the intra-day low of 89.49 against the greenback. It finally settled at 89.43 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a loss of 7 paise from the previous close.

Meanwhile, India’s real GDP has been estimated to grow by 8.2% in Q2 of FY 2025-26, the fastest growth in six quarters and against the growth rate of 5.6% during Q2 of FY 2024-25, according to data released by National Statistics Office (NSO). The GDP growth in the second quarter was better than the 7.8 per cent of the preceding three months and 5.6 per cent in the year-ago period. The country's nominal GDP grew at 8.7% during the previous quarter. Manufacturing, which makes up 14 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, rose by 9.1 per cent in Q2, up from 2.2 per cent in the same quarter last financial year.