The Indian rupee was up by 19 paise at Rs 49.10 per US dollar in early trade today on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters amid weakness of the American currency in overseas markets, coupled with a firming trend in the equity market.
The rupee resumed higher at Rs 49.12/13 per dollar on the Interbank Foreign Exchange, as against its previous close of Rs 49.29/30 per dollar, and moved up further to Rs 49.10 per dollar before quoting at Rs 49.19/20 per dollar at 1030 hours.
The domestic currency moved in a range between Rs 49.10 and Rs 49.23 per dollar during morning deals.
The US dollar lost ground against the euro in the New York market yesterday, a turnaround analysts attributed to a report in the Guardian saying France and Germany have agreed to a 2 trillion euro rescue fund as part of a comprehensive plan to resolve Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
The Indian benchmark Sensex was up by 197 points, or 1.17%, in early trade today.