The rupee resumed higher at 61 per dollar from Friday's close of 61.10 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market and moved up to 60.72.
However, the early gains were trimmed and the rupee ended at 60.88 per dollar, a gain of 22 paise, or 0.36 per cent, on some demand from banks and importers as the US currency strengthened overseas. The rupee had lost 70 paise, or 1.16 per cent, in the previous two sessions.
Foreign institutional investors purchased a net Rs 283.79 crore of shares on Friday, as per provisional figures issued by the stock exchanges. The benchmark Sensex gained 18.24 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 19,182.26.
The rupee's gains were capped as a survey showed India's private sector activity contracted for the first time in over four years in July. The HSBC India Composite Output Index, which maps services and manufacturing activity, fell to 48.4 in July, down from 50.9 in June, indicating a contraction.
In the global market, the US dollar edged higher in early trade, paring losses made in the wake of below-consensus job growth.