Rupee up 26 paise against USD in early trade

Besides, a higher opening in the domestic equity market supported the rupee but yen's weakness against the dollar overseas capped the rupee's gains, dealers said.

The rupee strengthened by 3 paise to end at a three-and-a-half-month high of 53.19 in the previous session on Friday against the US currency on sustained dollar selling amid continued capital inflows.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark index Sensex recovered by 121.41 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 19,902.60 in early trade today.