The rupee on Wednesday fell 24 paise to an all-time closing low of 61.44 against the dollar after July inflation unexpectedly rose to a five-month high, prompting the Reserve Bank of India to announce more measures to support the currency.

The decline came amid fresh dollar demand from importers and better-than-expected GDP growth in Germany and France.

The rupee opened lower at 61.54 a dollar from the previous close of 61.19 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market and touched a low of 61.56 on initial weakness in local stocks and dollar selling by exporters. It recovered to a high of 61.29 on a smart rebound in local equities, only to fall again to a new closing low of 61.44, a drop of 24 paise or 0.39%. The previous closing low was 61.30 on August 7.

The dollar index, which strengthened in early deals overseas, was almost stable as the euro rebounded following Germanys GDP data.