The rupee failed to hold on to early gains and eased a little in the late morning trade to 55.17 ruppee. The rupee was still up 21 paise, against the US dollar due to uneven demand.The rupee which had resumed higher at 55.25 rupee per dollar as against the weekend level of 55.38 and firmed further to 55.02 due to heavy selling of dollars by banks amid firm equity market. However, it failed to maintain early gains due to month-end dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, and it was quoted at 55.17 per dollar in the late morning trade. It moved in a range of 55.02 and 55.26 per dollar in the morning deals.