The Indian rupee strengthened for the second consecutive session, gaining 6 paise to trade at 83.37 against the US dollar in early trading on Wednesday. This rise was driven by sustained foreign capital inflows and a positive trend in domestic equity markets. However, the rupee faced resistance from a stronger US dollar and higher global crude oil prices. The dollar index, measuring the greenback against other major currencies, showed marginal gains despite initial weakness following lower-than-expected US retail sales data.