COLOMBO: Sri Lankan rupee forwards closed a tad weaker on Friday as mild importer dollar demand in late trade outpaced greenback sales by exporters and inflows from inward remittances, dealers said.
The currency is expected to gain due to a fall in seasonal imports and on inflows from remittances ahead of the Christmas and New Year, dealers said. The four-day forwards or spot-next-next, which were actively traded, closed at 131.98/132.03 per dollar, compared with Thursday's close of 131.96/132.00.
"There was dollar demand from importers in late trade," a currency dealer said. The spot currency and three-day forwards, or spot-next, were not traded after the central bank capped the currency at predetermined levels to prevent volatility, traders said. Central bank officials were not available for comments.
Dealers said they expect the rupee to strengthen from next week onwards through to the year end.
Overseas investors sold a net 3.75 billion rupees worth of government securities during the week ended Dec. 10.
They sold a net 43.9 billion rupees ($334.86 million) worth in the 11 weeks through Dec. 10, data from the central bank showed.
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