Rupee up for third day; gains 8 paise against dollar

Extending its rising streak for the third day, the rupee appreciated by 8 paise to 66.49 against the US dollar in early trade on continued selling of the American currency by banks and exporters.

Forex dealers said besides sustained selling of the greenback by banks and exporters, the dollar's weakness against other currencies overseas as investors await Federal Reserve 

Chair Janet Yellen's speech on monetary policy, backed up the rupee at the Interbank Foreign Exchange.

However, a weak trend in early trade in the domestic equity market capped the gains, they added.

The local currency had gained 7 paise to close at 66.57 in yesterday's trade.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 48.84 points, or 0.19%, to 24,917.56 in early trade.