Rupee up 12 paise against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Feb 21 (PTI) The Indian rupee was up by 12 paiseat 45.08 per US dollar in early trade today on sustaineddollar-selling by exporters and corporates amid weakness ofthe American currency overseas.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the domestic unitopened slightly higher at 45.19/20 per dollar as against lastFriday''s close of 45.20/21 per dollar. It moved up further to45.08 per dollar before quoting at 45.10/11 per dollar at 1030hours.

The rupee moved in a range between 45.08 and 45.21 perdollar in morning deals.

Sustained selling of dollars by exporters and some banksand a better opening in the stock market kept the rupeesentiment firm, a forex dealer said.

The Indian benchmark Sensex was trading higher by 25.64points, or 0.14 per cent, in early trade today.

Meanwhile, oil prices were up in Asia today, with NewYork contract light sweet crude for March delivery gaining USD1.13 to USD 87.33 a barrel.