The rupee strengthened by 20 paise to 64.86 against the dollar in early trade on Friday on fresh selling of the U.S. currency by exporters and banks amid firm domestic equity markets.
Forex dealers said weakness in the dollar against other major currencies after the Federal Reserve released minutes of its last policy meeting showing officials were worried about the strong dollar and inflation, supported the rupee.
Further, a higher opening in the domestic equity market influenced the rupee uptrend, they added.
On Thursday, the rupee had lost 11 paise to end at 65.06 against the US dollar at the interbank forex market.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex spurted by 325.38 points, or 1.21 per cent, at 27,171.19 in early trade on Friday.
