Rupee down 10 paise against dollar, hits 2-1/2 month low

The rupee weakened by 10 paise to 54.98 against the dollar on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in early trade today.

The rupee weakened by 10 paise to 54.98 against the dollar on the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in early trade on Monday.

Increased demand for the dollar from banks and importers mainly put pressure on the rupee, dealers said.

A firm opening in the domestic equity market and easing dollar against other currencies overseas, however, capped the fall, they added.

The rupee had lost 11 paise to close at 54.88 against dollar in the previous session on Friday due to sustained demand for the US currency for oil and gold related payments.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex surged 137.84 points, or 0.68%, at 20,423.96 in early trade on Monday.