The Indian rupee strengthened by 15 paise to 72.97 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday tracking positive domestic equities and weakness of the American currency in the overseas market. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 72.98 against the dollar, then inched higher to 72.97, registering a gain of 15 paise over its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 73.12 against the US dollar.

The rupee started this Friday on a stronger note against the dollar, tracking the weakness of the greenback and improved risk appetite in the global markets, Reliance Securities said in a research note. Strong local equities and currencies anticipated dollar inflows and improving India pandemic situation could also lend support to the local unit, the note added. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.06 per cent to 89.75.