The rupee slipped 1 paisa to 83.15 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid rising crude oil prices and withdrawal of foreign funds. Despite a weak American currency against major overseas rivals, negative sentiment in domestic equity markets kept the Indian currency under pressure, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.16 and inched up to 83.15 against the greenback in morning deals and traded at a loss of 1 paisa over its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee settled 2 paise lower at 83.14 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.16 per cent lower at 103.04 on Thursday. Analysts said the dollar retreated after the US data released on Wednesday showed more than expected increase in retail sales, dashing financial market's hope of interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark Read The Rest at :