The rupee today gained 23 paise to 53 rupees 54 paise againstagainst the US currency in late morning trade on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters driven by persistent capital inflows from foreign funds. Earlier,the rupee today opened stronger, at a near three-month high against the US dollar after the government raised import duty on gold to cut deficit. The rupee today rose to 53 rupees 45 paise against the yesterday close of 53 rupees 77 paise. Gold import-related dollar buying is an important source of dollar demand after oil in currency markets. India has raised the import tax on gold by 2 percentage points to 6 percent to curb purchases and rein-in a ballooning fiscal deficit.