Rupee up by 12 paise against US dollar in morning trade

Mumbai, Feb 28 (PTI) The Indian rupee was up by 12 paiseto 45.20 against the US dollar in early trade on persistentdollar-selling by exporters amid a rise in the equity market.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the domestic unitopened higher at 45.30/31 a dollar as against last weekend''sclose of 45.32/33 per dollar and shot up further to 45.20 perdollar before quoting at 45.26/27 per dollar at 1030 hours.

It moved in a range between 45.20 and 45.35 per dollarduring morning deals.

Forex dealers attributed the rise in the rupee value tofresh dollar-selling by exporters and some banks.

The Indian benchmark Sensex shot up by another 155.04points, or 0.88 per cent, in early trade.

Meanwhile, crude prices jumped in Asian trade today, withNew York futures again in sight of USD 100 a barrel as unrestin the oil-rich Middle East broadened, analysts said.