At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 68.59 a dollar

The rupee gained by 15 paise to close at 68.54 against the US dollar, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). The rise came due to gains in domestic equities and weakness in the greenback overseas. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 68.59 a dollar and advanced to a high of 68.51 during the day. It finally settled at 68.54, up 15 paise against its previous close of 68.69. The rupee gained taking cues from the higher Asian currencies, said the report citing forex dealers.

Here are 5 things to know about rupee-dollar rate today:

1. "Asian currencies gained after China's economic growth data came in line with estimates and factory output and retail sales data for June beat the estimates, hinting at a recovery in the economy," Press Trust of India quoted V K Sharma, head PCG and Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities, as saying.

2. Wholesale price-based inflation declined for the second consecutive month to its 23-month low of 2.02 per cent in June. Data released last week showed that retail inflation spiked to a six-month high of 3.18 per cent in June, on costlier food items.

3. BSE Sensex ended in the positive territory, driven by gains in IT major Infosys and positive macroeconomic cues. The 30-share index settled 160.48 points or 0.41 per cent higher at 38,896.71. The broader NSE Nifty ended 35.85 points, or 0.31 per cent, up at 11,588.35.

4. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.42 per cent to $67 per barrel.

5. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 216.44 crore on Monday, provisional exchange data on National Stock Exchange showed.