The rupee pared early gains by slipping 2 paise to 68.12 against the American currency in late morning deals on bouts of dollar demand from importers and banks amid lower equities.

The rupee opened higher at 68.06 as against yesterday's closing level of 68.10 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market. It gained further to 68.05 before slipping to 68.13 per dollar during morning hours. It was quoting at 68.12 at 10:30 hours.