The rupee opened 15 paise lower at 61.51 per dollar against the previous close of 61.36 on dollar buying from importers and gains in the American dollar overseas.

The domestic unit hovered in the range of 61.40 and 61.51 in the morning trade.

The US dollar touched seven-year peak versus the yen on Monday as markets basked in the afterglow of the Bank of Japan's surprise stimulus push and looked forward to at least a hint of fresh action from European policy makers this week.

Forex dealers said besides the dollar’s gains against other currencies in the global market, increased demand for the American unit from importers weighed on the rupee but surging domestic equity market, capped the fall.

The rupee had gained nine paise to close at 61.36 against the dollar in the previous session on Friday.

The inter-bank call money rate, the rate at which banks borrow short-term funds from one another, opened higher at 7.90 per cent from the previous close of 7.10 per cent.

Yield on the 10-year benchmark 8.40 per cent government security, maturing in 2024, softened a tad to 8.26 per cent from the previous close of 8.27 per cent. Prices of the bond opened higher at ₹100.90 from the previous close of ₹100.78.