COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker on Monday, not far from an all-time low hit in the previous session, on importer dollar demand, while a private bank's greenback sales prevented further fall in the local currency, dealers said.
The rupee ended down at 142.20/30 per dollar from Friday's close of 142.00/05.
The currency fell 0.25 percent on Friday to a record low of 142.25, though the central bank prevented it from falling further by restricting trades below 142.00 per dollar, dealers said.
Dealers said the central bank on Monday prevented the currency from falling further by restricting trades below 142.20 per dollar. Central bank officials were not available for comments.
"The rupee is weaker on lack of supply. Exporters are reluctant to sell as they expect the currency to weaken further and they are waiting to see what the central bank's move is," said a currency dealer asking not to be named.
Dealers said importers have been booking forwards as they are not sure of the budget while exporters are quietly selling in low volumes on expectations the currency will trade around the current levels until some clarity emerges from the 2016 budget.
Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake will present the 2016 budget in parliament on Friday. He has said the budget will be "capital oriented".
Commercial banks parked 143.87 billion rupees ($1.01 billion) of surplus liquidity on Monday, using the central bank's deposit facility at 6 percent, official data showed.
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