The rupee opened lower against the greenback on Friday, as fears of an escalation in geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan weighed on the domestic unit. A higher dollar and rising oil prices also pressured the local currency.

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At 09:10 AM, the rupee was trading at 70.80 a dollar, down 8 paise from its Thursday’s close of 70.72. The home currency opened at 70.77 and touched a high and a low of 70.71 and 70.81 a dollar, respectively.

In a surprise announcement, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a joint session of Parliament that IAF’s captured pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be released on Friday as a gesture of peace.

Globally, the dollar hovered near a 10-week high against the yen, thanks to a surge in Treasury yields after US gross domestic product data topped expectations.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies stood at 96.222 after grinding out a 0.15 percent gain on Thursday, when it pulled back from a three-week trough of 95.824.

In commodity markets, oil prices rose as markets tightened amid output cuts by producer club OPEC.

International Brent crude futures were at $66.55 per barrel, up 24 cents, or 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, foreign investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 423 crore on a net basis Wednesday, as per provisional data.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds down 0.9 percent to 7.41 percent from its previous close of 7.47 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.