The rupee ended steady on Monday as dollar inflows that accumulated over the weekend and fresh foreign investment offset month-end demand from local companies. The rupee closed little changed at 43.7150/7250 per dollar, compared to Friday's 43.7200/7250 close. "There was good month-end demand that combined with the dollar's gains overseas to pull the rupee off 43.66, but then supplies were also strong and we saw some good inflows from foreign funds," a dealer at a state-run bank said.
The rupee had started strongly as local stocks rose and the price of oil, India's biggest import, fell after Opec producers maintained output and the Iraq polls ended without a major hitch.
The benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange index jumped 2.1 percent to a four-week closing high as investors cheered a change in government policy allowing private pension funds to invest up to 5 percent of their portfolios into stocks.
Traders said the outlook for the rupee was buoyant, despite the dollar's gains overseas.