COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan rupee traded steady as a state-run bank continued to sell dollars at 133.80 for the third day on Thursday, even as the central bank defended the spot currency via moral suasion, dealers said.
Currency dealers said hopes the rupee would strengthen on rising inflows was fading as the currency has come under pressure after foreign investors too sold rupee bonds on Thursday.
The spot currency traded unchanged as one of two state-run banks through which the central bank usually directs the market sold dollars at 133.80.
"The state bank continued to sell dollars at 133.80 and there is pressure by foreigners to sell bonds too," a currency dealer said on condition of anonymity.
Dealers said the central bank has persuaded banks to keep the spot at current levels, but officials of the banking regulator were not immediately available to comment on it.
The state-run bank cut the spot rupee's level by 10 cents to 133.80 on Tuesday after retaining it at 133.90 for the previous five sessions through Monday.
The move came amid tepid dollar sales by exporters and concerns over the continuing political uncertainty, dealers said.
The market expects the rupee to be stable so long as the central bank offers dollars, but its stability will depend on the amount of inflows the country is able to get, currency dealers said.
One-week forwards were steady at 133.95/134.10 per dollar, while actively-traded three-month forwards were at 135.70/90.
In the stock market, the benchmark index was up 0.06 percent at 7,067.57 as of 0551 GMT. Turnover stood at 287.3 million rupees ($2.15 million).
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.