The rupee fell 17 paise to 69.59 against the US dollar in opening trade Tuesday on increased demand for the greenback from importers and banks. Forex dealers said, strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on the domestic currency. However, sustained foreign fund inflows and positive opening in domestic equities supported the rupee and restricted the fall. The rupee opened at 69.55 at the interbank forex market, then lost further ground and fell to 69.59, down 17 paise over its last close.

The rupee Monday had settled at 69.42 against the US dollar. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 713.22 crore Monday, as per provisional data. Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.27 per cent to trade at USD 70.99 per barrel. Benchmark indices Sensex was trading 212.10 points up at 39,117.94 and Nifty was quoted at 11,743.80 points, up 53.45 points.