The Indian rupee today fell by 17 paise against the US dollar in early trade on expectations of fresh capital outflows and increased dollar demand from importers.
A strong dollar against major currencies also put pressure on the Indian rupee, forex dealers said.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit declined by 17 paise to 48.15 a dollar over its previous close. The rupee closed three paisa down at 47.98/48.00 on Wednesday.
Forex dealers said rupee weakened for the second straight day in anticipation of increased capital outflows as the stock markets may open lower in line with a slide in other Asian bourses, which are down up to 2.60 per cent in morning trade.
They said dollar's firmness against major currencies and increased demand from importers for the US currency, also weighed on the rupee.
The BSE Sensex ended 0.99 per cent down on Wednesday.
