The rupee fell by 2 paise to 89.24 against the US dollar in early trade

The rupee was trading weaker by 2 paise at 89.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday due to increased demand for the US currency from importers amid volatile global trade.

According to forex traders, the rupee was supported by fresh inflows of foreign capital into local stock markets and lower crude oil prices in the international market.

In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.19 and lost more to trade at 89.24 against the greenback in early trade, 2 paise below its previous closing level.

The rupee settled at 89.22 against the greenback on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.09 percent at 99.43.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures traded down 0.43 percent at USD 62.86 a barrel.

On the domestic equity front, the Sensex rose 305.82 points, or 0.36 percent, to 85,915.33 in early trade, while the Nifty gained 69.15 points, or 0.26 percent, to 26,274.45.

Foreign institutional investors on Wednesday netted Rs. 4,778.03 crore worth of equity purchases, according to exchange data.