The rupee gained 20 paisa against the US currency in early trade on persistent selling of dollars by banks and corporates coupled with sustained capital inflows into equity market.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency opened strong at 46.02/04 against its last Friday’s level of 46.15/16 per dollar and firmed up further to 45.95 a dollar at 1030 hours.

 The dollar fell against the yen in Tokyo Monday, slipping towards a 15-year low, after a disappointing US July payrolls reports boosted talk that the Federal Reserve could consider further easing monetary policy.

 Sustained capital inflow from foreign funds into the equity market also boosted the rupee value against the dollar.