The rupee opened lower against the US dollar on Friday on the back of the strength in the American unit.

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At 09:10 AM, the rupee was trading at 71.39 a dollar down 12 paise from its Wednesday’s close of 71.27. The home currency opened at 71.37 and touched a high and a low of 71.32 and 71.39 a dollar, respectively.

Indian financial and money markets were shut on Thursday on account of Independence Day.

In the currency market, the dollar held onto gains after a surge in US retail sales eased concerns about the world’s top economy.

The greenback was on course for a weekly gain against safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc.

Sentiment, however, remained frail amid fresh worries about the economic impact of the Sino-US trade war.

China on Thursday vowed to counter the latest U.S. tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods, but US President Donald Trump said any pact would have to be on America’s terms, suggesting a resolution to the trade war remains elusive, reported Reuters.

The dollar was little changed at 106.11 yen early in Asian trading after rising 0.2 percent on Thursday.

In commodity markets, crude oil prices rose on Friday after two days of declines.

Brent crude was up 31 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $58.54 a barrel at 0047 GMT, after falling 2.1 percent on Thursday and 3 percent the previous day.

Forex traders said the trigger for the rupee going forward would any spurt on US-China trade war and geopolitical tensions between India-Pakistan.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 638.28 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

In debt markets, the yields on the 10-year government bonds were up 0.63 percent to 6.59 percent from its previous close of 6.63 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.