Rupee rises 2 paise to 83.64 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday amid softening crude oil prices and inflow of foreign funds.

The Indian currency was, however, weighed down by a subdued domestic equity market and a stronger greenback against major rivals overseas amid increased month-end dollar demand from importers, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 83.64 and touched the low of 83.69 before trading again at 83.64 against the American currency, registering a gain of 2 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee declined 8 paise to settle at 83.66 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.15 per cent to 100.39.

Analysts said the market participants were awaiting further cues from the personal consumption expenditure data to be released in the US on Friday.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.36 per cent to 71.34 in futures trade.

On the domestic equity markets front, the Sensex fell 9.15 points or 0.01 per cent o 85,826.97, while the Nifty inched up 5.80 points or 0.02 per cent to 26,221.85. Both the indices closed at their highest levels on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday, purchasing shares worth Rs 629.96 crore, according to exchange data.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.