The Indian rupee on Wednesday appreciated by 13 paise against the US dollar in early trade following increased dollar selling by exporters amid firm trend on the Asian equity markets.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency traded at 48.34/35 against the US currency, a rise of 13 paise over the previous close of 48.47/48 a dollar.
The rupee had lost five paise at 48.47/48 yesterday after oil refiners bought US currency.
Forex dealers said dollar weakness overseas supported the Indian rupee but some month-end dollar demand from importers and oil refiners capped gains in the rupee.
Meanwhile, BSE Sensex was up 109.74 points at 9,825.90 in opening trade today, while Hong Kong Stock Exchange moved up by 1.2 per cent in early trade.