Mumbai: The rupee edged 5 paise higher to 71.23 against the US dollar in early session at the interbank forex market on Tuesday on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.

Besides, the dollar's weakness against some other currencies amid lingering worries about a global slowdown, supported the rupee, forex dealers said.

However, a weak trend in domestic equities in early trade limited the rupee's gain.

On Monday, the rupee had ended lower by 9 paise at 71.28 against the US currency amid rise in demand for the greenback.

Meanwhile, benchmark BSE Sensex fell 71.47 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 36,507.49 and the NSE Nifty was down by 30.95 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 10,930.90 in opening trade on Tuesday.