Dealers said besides strong month-end demand from importers, particularly oil refiners, the euro's weakness against the American currency on persistent euro-zone worries, kept pressure on the Indian currency.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened lower at Rs 56 and continued its downward journey to trade at Rs 56.16, down 49 paise against its yesterday's close of Rs 55.67.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 113.55 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 16,325.03 in early trade today.