Rupee down 9 paise against dollar

Mumbai: The rupee weakened by 9 paise to 64.65 against the dollar in early trade today at the Inter- bank Foreign Exchange market on increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

Dealers said a firm dollar against some global currencies overseas also weighed on the rupee but a higher opening of the domestic equity market capped the fall.

The rupee edged higher by 2 paise against the American unit to close at 64.56 in yesterday's trade on emergence of mild selling of the American greenback by banks and exporters.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rallied 161.95 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 29,584.34 in early trade.