Rupee up on shares, euro; oil demand may weigh

The rupee was stronger in early morning trades on Tuesday aided by a firm euro and positive local shares.

At 9:30 am, the partially convertible rupee was at 45.2225/2300 per dollar after touching 45.1700, compared with Friday's close of 45.35/36.

The euro was at USD 1.4430. It was at USD 1.4268 at end of local forex trade on Friday, while the index of the dollar against six major currencies was at 73.920 points, compared with 74.449 points previously.

The euro was largely steady against the dollar on Tuesday, just below a three-week high, with focus on whether a Franco-German summit will come up with further measures to help quell the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.

Traders said likely dollar demand from oil importers will prevent a sharper rise.

India is estimated to owe around USD 4 billion to Iran for its oil imports and domestic oil firms have been aggressively buying dollars to make these payments.

The BSE Sensex gained 1% early on Tuesday, mirroring the global equities rally.