The rupee opened lower at 62.40 per dollar against the previous close of 62.36 at the interbank foreign exchange market and dropped further to 62.55 on dollar demand from banks and importers.
It recovered to 62.04 per dollar before ending at 62.05, a gain of 31 paise or 0.50 per cent. The rupee is at the highest level since it ended at 61.62 on November 5.
The follow-on-public offer of Power Grid Corporation was fully subscribed on the second day today. The issue is open till tomorrow for institutional buyers and it will close a day later for retail investors.
The rupee gained even as the dollar rose against major currencies today on expectations that key economic data from the US this week could increase pressure on the Federal Reserve to taper its bond-buying programme.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex tumbled 146.21 points or 0.7 per cent to 20,708.71. Overseas investors bought a net Rs 516.59 crore of shares yesterday, according to provisional figures from the stock exchanges.