Rupee loses further, down 20 paise against dollar

Falling for the third consecutive day, the rupee weakened by another 20 paise to trade at 63.97 against the dollar in early trade on Friday on appreciation of the American currency against other major currencies globally as the US Federal Reserve prepares to hike rates. Besides, increased demand for dollar from importers and a lower opening in the domestic equity market, weighed on the local currency, forex dealers said. The rupee had plunged by 19 paise to close at over 3-week low of 63.77 against the US dollar in Thursday's trade on persistent demand for the American currency from banks and importers on the back of higher greenback in the overseas market.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was down by 111.72 points, or 0.39 percent, to 28,259.12 in early trade on Friday.