Mumbai, Jul 18: The rupee slipped from its early gains, trading lower by 2 paise to 68.47 against the American currency in late morning deals on bouts of dollar demand from importers and banks amid surging dollar overseas. The Indian unit traded in wide range and hovered between high of 68.38 and low 68.51 before quoting at 68.47 at 1030 hrs.

Overseas, the US dollar rose across the board in early Asian trade, climbing to a six-month high against the yen, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave an upbeat outlook for the US economy and reinforced views that the Fed was on track to steadily hike interest rates. The 30-share BSE Sensex is trading higher by 87.76 points or 0.24 per cent at 36,607.72 at 1100 hrs.