 "Rupee tanks 17 paise against dollar in early trade")
The rupee depreciated by 17 paise to 66.79 against the US dollar in early trade today due to increased demand for the American currency from importers amid a lower opening of the domestic equity market.
Besides, growth in industrial production plunging to 0.1% in March and retail inflation soared to 5.39% in April, also put pressure on the rupee, forex dealers said.
However, the US dollar's weakness against some currencies overseas capped the losses.
Yesterday, the domestic unit had lost 6 paise to close at 66.62 due to higher greenback in the overseas market.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 238.12 points, or 0.92%, to trade at 25,552.10 in early trade today.