The rupee fell 26 paise to 61.53 against the US currency in the late morning trade on sustained dollar demand from importers and banks amid volatility in equity markets. The rupee resumed lower at 61.35 per dollar as against the last weekend's level of 61.27 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and dropped further to 61.58 before quoting at 61.53. The domestic unit hovered in a range of 61.33 and 61.58 per dollar during the morning deals.