The rupee gained 2 paise to 95.43 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, backed by a weaker greenback overseas.

The Indian currency, however, remained under pressure due to the withdrawal of foreign funds from domestic equities and rising crude oil prices amid geopolitical uncertainties, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.39 and later slipped to trade at 95.43 against the American currency in early deals, up marginally by 2 paise from its previous closing level.

On Thursday, the rupee closed 12 paise lower at 95.45 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent lower at 99.78.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.16 per cent at $87.21 per barrel in futures trade.

According to analysts, the dollar index retreated following a fall in US Treasury yields and inflation in the world's largest economy remained below expected levels.

Also, they said oil prices rose after days of easing, as hopes of a deal to end the West Asia crisis remained in limbo.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 315.50 points, or 0.40 per cent to 77,764.46, while Nifty dropped 72.70 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 24,321.95 in the morning session.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹510.69 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.