Mumbai, Jul 9 - The rupee declined by 48 paise to 55.90 against the dollar in early trade today, extending losses for the fourth day in a row on the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased demand for the American currency.

Besides increased dollar demand following signs of global uncertainties deepening after sluggish US jobs data, a lower opening in the domestic equity market put pressure on the rupee, forex dealers said.

The rupee had dropped 45 paise to end at 55.42 against the dollar in the previous session on Friday. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by 107.99 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 17,413.13. PTI