India, March 3 -- The rupee saw a steep loss of 42 paise to settle at 91.50 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday after US and Israeli attacks on Iran intensified worldwide risk aversion, setting crude oil prices on fire and demand for the American currency soaring. Massive selling in domestic equity markets and withdrawal of foreign funds further dragged the Indian currency down, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.23 and touched the intraday low of 91.65 against the greenback.

The currency ended the session at 91.50 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a steep loss of 42 paise from the previous closing level. On Friday, the rupee lost 17 paise to settle at 91.08 against the dol...