The Indian rupee appreciated four paise to 77.66 against the US dollar (21.16 versus the UAE dirham) in the opening trade on Monday as a positive trend in Indian equities and weak American currency overseas supported the rupee. However, unabated foreign fund outflows and surging crude prices in the international markets restricted the rupee's gain, forex dealers said.

At the Indian interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened slightly strong at 77.69 against the American dollar, then gained some more ground to quote 77.66, registering a rise of four paise over the last close.

It was moving in a narrow range of 77.66 to 77.69 in early deals.

In the previous session, the rupee had settled at a record low of 77.70 against the American currency.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.42 per cent lower at 102.71.

On the Indian equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 166.35 points or 0.31 per cent higher at 54,492.74, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 30.70 points or 0.19 per cent to 16,296.85.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures surged 0.52 per cent to $113.14 per barrel.

The government on Saturday announced a record Rs8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs6 per litre reduction on diesel.