Rupee down 8 paise against dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee today lost 8 paise to 54.04 against the US dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to appreciation of the American currency against other Asian currencies overseas.

Dealers attributed the rupee's fall to dollar gains against yen overseas after the G20 cautiously endorsed the Bank of Japan's huge stimulus measures.

They said, however, euro's gain against the dollar and a higher opening of the domestic equity market, capped rupee's losses.

The rupee had gained 25 paise to close at over one-month high of 53.96 against the dollar on Thursday after rally in equities. The forex and money markets remained closed on Friday for "Ramnavami".

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex was up by 68.72 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 19,085.18 in early trade today.