The rupee gained to 54.14 in intra-day trade on the back of strong dollar inflows into the domestic equity market.
The benchmark Sensex was trading up 213 points at 19,885 points at 2.40 p.m. local time.
The Indian unit opened a tad lower at 54.23 (previous close: 54.18) on higher demand for the American unit from importers.
According to dealers, some dollar inflows over the next few days is likely to provide a degree of comfort to the Indian unit. In the first hour of trade, the rupee touched a low of 54.36.
