The rupee gave up some of its early gains in late trade and was quoting at Thursday’s close of 61.12 against the dollar at 4.10 pm.

The Indian unit gained in early trade in line with the domestic equity markets, which touched a lifetime high in the morning.

The rupee strengthened to as much as 60.94. It has been more than 12 weeks since the rupee appreciated below the 60/dollar mark.

However, according to dealers, these gains will be hard to sustain.

Also, Finance Minister P.Chidambaram's announcement that the current account deficit would be below $40 billion in the current fiscal had a positive effect on the Indian unit.