MUMBAI: The rupee lost 17 paise to 61.24 against the dollar in the late morning trade on good demand for the US currency from banks and importers on the back of higher greenback overseas. The rupee resumed lower at 61.15 per dollar as against the last weekend's level of 61.07 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange ( Forex) market and hovered in the range of 61.15 and 61.28 before quoting at 61.24 per dollar at 1030 hours. Banks and importers preferred to increase their dollar position in view of its firmness in overseas market. In New York market, the US dollar jumped against the yen on last Friday showing a net one per cent weekly gain, as Washington leaders said they would keep working on resolving their battle over the US budget and raising the debt ceiling. Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark sensex rose 65.38 points or 0.32% to 20,593.97 at 1050 hrs.

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