MUMBAI: The rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 10 paise to 68.54 against the US dollar in early trade Friday ahead of the release of key macro-economic data.

Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range ahead of the release of retail inflation and factory output data. Besides, the weakening of the greenback vis-a-vis other currencies overseas supported the local unit.

However, rising crude oil prices, foreign fund outflows and cautious opening in domestic equities weighed on the domestic currency.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened at 68.48then fell to 68.54 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 10 paise overits previous closing.

The Indian rupee Thursday had closed at 68.44 against the USdollar.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark,rose 0.68 per cent to USD 66.97 per barrel.Foreign institutional investors(FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 316.86 croreThursday, as per provisional data.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note Friday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 24.07 points down at 38,799.04 and Nifty down3.95 points at 11,578.95.

On the global front, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell,has indicated that the central bank is prepared to cut interest rates tosupport the economy.

“Uncertainties around trade tensions and concerns about the strength of the global economy continue to weigh on the US economic outlook,”Powell said in his opening comments to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.