On Wednesday, the rupee had surged 31 paise to end at a nearly seven-week high of 67.54.

Hardening for the fifth consecutive day, the rupee on Thursday appreciated another 18 paise to trade at a 7-week high of 67.36 against the dollar on sustained bouts of selling of the US currency by banks and exporters amid foreign capital inflows.

Dealers said a higher opening of domestic equities supported the rupee, but dollar's strength against some currencies overseas limited the gain.

On Wednesday, the rupee had surged 31 paise to end at a nearly seven-week high of 67.54 on persistent selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of fresh foreign capital inflows.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex advanced 227.59 points, or 0.94 per cent, to trade at 24,470.57 in early deals.