Mumbai, Feb 23 (PTI) The rupee inched up 2 paise to 71.22 against the US dollar in early trade Friday amid a dip in crude oil prices and fresh foreign fund inflows. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the local unit opened almost flat at 71.23 and stayed in a narrow range. The rupee had skidded by 13 paise to close at 71.24 against the US dollar Thursday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought equities worth Rs 55 crore Thursday while domestic institutional investors bought shares to the tune of Rs 202 crore, provisional data showed. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.25 per cent lower at USD 66.90 per barrel. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, traded flat at 96.60.Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 56.40 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 35,841.95 in opening trade Friday.