Rupee gains 15 paise against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee gained 15 paise to Rs45.12 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange today on the back of dollar weakness against other currency rivals.

Forex dealers said continued weakness of the dollar against other currencies and shifting of funds from the forex market to firming equities mainly pulled down the dollar.

The Indian rupee had gained 5 paise to 45.27/28 against the US dollar in the previous session amid firming equities and mild dollar-selling by exporters on the day that the Union Budget for FY'12 was announced.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex rose by 208.83 points to 18,032.23 in opening trade today on the back of proposals in the Budget for hiking FII limits and slashing corporate taxes surcharge.