The rupee failed to hold on to early gains and eased a little in the late morning trade to 55.17, still up 21 paise, against the US dollar due to uneven demand.
The rupee resumed higher at 55.25 per dollar as against the weekend level of 55.38 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and firmed further to 55.02 due to heavy selling of dollars by banks amid firm equity market.
However, it failed to maintain early gains due to month-end dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, and it was quoted at 55.17 per dollar at 1045hrs.
It moved in a range of 55.02 and 55.26 per dollar in the morning deals.
The BSE 30-scrip index, Sensex, was up 95 points or 0.59% at 1045hrs.
In New York, the US dollar rose on Friday, rising for the fourth straight week against other foreign currencies taking it to the highest level since 2010.
