Rupee up 11 paise against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Feb 15 (PTI) The Indian rupee was up by 11 paiseat 45.38 against the US dollar in early trade today onsustained selling of the American currency by banks andcorporates amid dollar weakness overseas.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the domesticunit opened higher at 45.44/45 per dollar against yesterday''sclosing level of 45.49/50 per dollar and moved up further to45.38 per dollar before quoting at 45.43/44 per dollar at 1030hours.

It moved in a range between 45.38 and 45.50 per dollar inmorning deals.

Sustained selling of dollars by banks and corporates dueto weakness of the dollar in the overseas market mainlyboosted the rupee value, a forex dealer said.

The euro fell to its lowest level against the US dollarin three weeks, as investors grew skeptical about theprospects for a comprehensive solution to the eurozone''ssovereign-debt crisis.

Meanwhile, oil prices climbed in Asian in early tradetoday, bolstered by continued unrest in the Middle East andNorth Africa and robust Chinese demand, analysts said.

New York''s main contract, light sweet crude for Marchdelivery, was up 24 cents to USD 85.05 per barrel.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex was down bynearly 150 points at 1100 hours today.