The rupee strengthened to its highest level in more than 18 months on Monday morning boosted by the dollar's weakness against major currencies and mild gains in the local sharemarket.

At 9:07 a.m, the partially convertible rupee was at 45.10/11 per dollar, its strongest since Sept. 10, 2008 and above its close of 45.23/24 on Friday.

The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.2 percent.

The euro jumped in early Asian trade on Monday on a bout of short covering by investors, extending broad gains made late last week after euro zone leaders approved a safety net for debt-laden Greece.

The BSE Sensex rose 0.4 percent early with auto makers leading the gains on hopes for strong sales in March.