The rupee on Wednesday appreciated by 26 paise to 59.85 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange amidst IMF's forecast of improved growth prospects for India.
Besides, a higher opening in the domestic equity market and strengthening of other Asian currencies against the dollar overseas supported the rupee, forex dealers said.
Supported by slightly stronger global growth, improving export competitiveness and implementation of recently approved investment projects, India's growth is expected to recover from 4.4% in 2013 to 5.4% in 2014, the IMF said on Tuesday.
The rupee had lost three paise to close at 60.11 against the dollar on Monday. Forex and money markets remained closed on Tuesday for "Ram Navmi".
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 103.13 points, or 0.46%, to 22,446.58 in early trade on Wednesday.