Rupee down 17 paise against dollar in early trade

The rupee today weakened by 17 paise to 62.24 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to demand for the US currency from importers.

Forex dealers said besides dollar's gains against other currencies overseas, increased demand from importers for the greenback also put pressure on the rupee.

They said, however, a higher opening of the domestic equity market capped the fall.

The domestic unit had gained 23 paise to one-week high of 62.07 against the dollar yesterday, amid a modest recovery in local stocks.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 42.10 points, or 0.20%, to 20,771.48 in early trade today.