The rupee had strengthened by 13 paise to close at Rs 44.07/08 a dollar in the previous session on Friday on fresh sale of dollars by exporters and banks.

Forex dealers said the lower opening in the stock market exerted pressure on the rupee sentiment.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex was trading 140.02 points, or 0.71 per cent down at 19,311.43 level this morning.