The rupee's upward movement was aided by a good dose of dollar selling by exporters and some banks, amid a weak dollar overseas, said forex dealers.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit commenced a tad higher at 54.75 a dollar from last Friday's close of 54.76 and soon touched a low of 54.82.
However, it quickly bounced back to a high of 54.42 before ending at 54.49 -- a rise of 27 paise or 0.49 per cent. This is its best closing since 54.35 on January 2.
"Rupee started appreciating after WPI for the month of December eased to 7.18 per cent. Government's decision to defer GAAR till April, 2016 also supported the positive sentiments in the market," said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, India Forex Advisors.
Softer inflation number also brought cheer to market as expectations of rate cut were boosted, treasury official said.
With GAAR delayed, rupee gained on hopes that fund flows would increase in the financial markets, they added.
Provisional BSE data showed FIIs have pumped in over Rs 600 crore in Indian stocks today. The stock market benchmark BSE Sensex today spurted by 242.77 points or 1.23 per cent.
The dollar index was down by 0.05 per cent against a basket of six major currencies while New York crude oil was quoting above USD 94 a barrel in Europe today. (MORE)
