Rupee slips 6 paise against US dollar

The rupee fell 6 paise to 68.59 against the US dollar in early trade today on fresh buying of the American currency by importers.

Traders said dollar's strength against some currencies overseas and fresh demand of the US currency from importers weighed on investor sentiment. Besides, India's trade deficit widening to a more than three-and-a-half-year high of USD 16.6 billion due to costlier crude oil imports, too kept pressure on the rupee. On Friday, the rupee saw a marginal four paise rise in its value at 68.53 a dollar. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 117.08 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 36,658.71 in opening trade.