Rupee gains 5 paise against dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee strengthened by 5 paise to 68.05 against the dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks amidst higher opening in the domestic equity market.

Forex dealers said besides selling of the American greenback by exporters and banks, weakness in the dollar against other currencies overseas supported the rupee. Further, a higher opening in the domestic equity market influenced the rupee uptrend, they added.

On Monday, the rupee had staged a mild recovery by gaining 6 paise to close at 68.10 on fresh dollar selling by banks and encouraging macro-economic data. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 72.30 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 27,360.47 in early trade today.