The rupee gained 5 paise to 82.46 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday amid positive trends in equities markets.

Forex traders said falling crude price and inflow of foreign fund in domestic equities markets also provided support to the Indian currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened strong at 82.49 and touched the highest level of 82.45.

Later, it traded at 82.46, registering a gain of 5 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee settled at 82.51 against the dollar.

According to experts, the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision on Thursday to maintain pause on interest rate came on expected lines, which boosted the overall sentiment.

RBI on Thursday kept the key interest rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent.

Meanwhile, investors were concerned over the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision to be announced next week.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.04 per cent to 103.38.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.50 per cent to USD 75.58 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 25.29 points or 0.04 per cent higher at 62,873.93. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 7.45 points or 0.04 per cent to 18,642.00.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday as they purchased shares worth Rs 212.40 crore, according to exchange data.

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