Rupee up 10 paise vs $ in early trade

The Indian rupee firmed up further by another 10 paise to 48.58/59 against the greenback in early trade on the back of rise in equity markets coupled with weakness of dollar against other currencies in global markets.

In a range bound trade at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency resumed higher at 48.59/60 from the last weekend's close of 48.68/69 a dollar.

The rupee moved up further slightly to 48.58/59 in early trade after moving in a narrow range of 48.57 and 48.63.

Forex dealers attributed the rise in the rupee to firm equity markets as the Indian benchmark Sensex advanced 71 points, or 0.76 per cent, on expectations of more sops in the forthcoming interim budget.

Meanwhile, global crude oil prices were trading above $40 a barrel in Asian trade today.