Rupee falls by 20 paise against US dollar

Mumbai, Feb 22: The Indian rupee shed 20 paise from a seven-week high to Rs 45.18 per US dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange today, weighed down by dollar gains against other currencies.

The Indian rupee rose by 21 paise to a 7-week high of 44.9850/9950 against the US currency yesterday amid a rally in the domestic equity market accompanied by increased foreign capital inflows.

Forex dealers said dollar gains against other Asian currencies and a lower opening in the stock market mainly put pressure on the rupee.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by 155.01 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 18,283.30 in opening trade today.

PTI