Rupee falls 14 paise against US dollar in early trade

The rupee weakened by 14 paise to 60.31 against the US dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market today on disappointing IIP numbers.

Forex dealers said dollar's gains against other currencies overseas and increased demand for the American unit from importers also weighed on the rupee but a higher opening of the domestic equity market capped the fall.

Industrial production data, which was released after market hours on Friday, had once again slipped into the negative territory and contracted 1.9 per cent in February due to poor performance in manufacturing, especially capital goods.

The rupee had lost 10 paise to close at 60.17 against the US currency on Friday. Forex and money markets remained closed yesterday for "Ambedkdar Jayanti".

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 108.35 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 22,737.31 in early trade today.