The Indian rupee strengthened by 12 paise against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday on expectations of more capital inflows as market may open higher in line with other firming Asian markets.

Dollar selling by exporters also supported the Indian rupee. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit appreciated by 12 paise to quote at 48.76 a dollar over the previous close. The Rupee ended 3 paise higher at 48.88/89 on Friday.