After three consecutive days of gains, the rupee today saw a sharp fall of 15 paise to close at 64.43 a dollar on the back of fresh demand for the American currency from importers and bank.

The domestic currency had closed at a near six-week high of 64.28 yesterday, after seeing gains of 17 paise in three straight sessions.

The local currency opened substantially lower at 64.34 against Wednesday’s closing of 64.28 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market.

Trading at a line of resistance, the home unit largely moved between 64.3250 and 64.4650 throughout the day before ending at 64.43, showing a sharp loss of 15 paise, or 0.23 per cent.