The rupee on Monday plunged by 23 paise to close at 75.12 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar, as investors turned cautious in view of a new variant of COVID-19 .
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 74.84 and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.82 and a low of 75.16 against the U.S. dollar in a highly volatile trading session.
The local unit finally settled at 75.12 a dollar, down 23 paise over its previous close.
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On Friday, the rupee had plunged by 37 paise or 0.50% against the U.S. dollar to close at a nearly month's low of 74.89, as investors resorted to risk-off sentiment.
Investor concern resurfaced about lockdowns amid a rise in COVID cases in Europe and a new variant, detected in South Africa.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11% up at 96.19.
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Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 4.29% to $75.84 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 153.43 points or 0.27% higher at 57,260.58, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 27.50 points or 0.16% to 17,053.95.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth ₹5,785.83 crore, as per exchange data.