The Indian rupee dropped by 15 paise to 54.51 rupees against the US dollar in the late morning trade on persistent dollar demand from banks and importers on the back of higher dollar overseas. The rupee resumed lower at 54.65 rupees per dollar against the last closing level of 54.36 rupees per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange and dropped further to 54.67 rupees per dollar before quoting at 54.51 rupees per dollar.