The rupee trimmed its initial gains against the American currency but was still quoted up by nine paise to 53.21 per dollar on mild selling of dollars from banks and exporters in view of persistent capital inflows from foreign funds.
The rupee resumed higher at 53.26 per dollar as against the last closing level of 53.30 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and firmed up further to 53.07 per dollar on sustained capital inflows from foreign funds.
However, it failed to maintain its initial gains and was quoted at 53.21 per dollar due to month-end dollar demand from oil companies.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 906.36 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex dropped by 47 points or 0.23% in the late morning trade.