COLOMBO: Sri Lankan five-day rupee forwards edged higher on Tuesday as banks sold the dollar through exporters and inward remittances ahead of the Sinhala-Tamil new year next week, dealers said.
The forwards, which are called spot next and act as a proxy for the spot currency, traded at 144.70/80 per dollar, firmer from Monday's close of 146.10/20.
The state-owned bank sold dollars at 144.50 levels, likely on behalf of the central bank, to keep the rupee steady, dealers said.
The spot rupee, which has not been active since Jan. 27, did not actively trade. The central bank has fixed the spot rupee's trading price at 143.90 through moral suasion, dealers said.
Central bank officials were not available for comment.
"Now, the inflows are coming in for the festival season and the central bank is holding the rupee, the currency will be at these levels without much pressure," a currency dealer said.
Sri Lanka will celebrate the Sinhala-Tamil new year on April 13 and 14.
The one-week forwards, which were hovering near record lows last week, also did not actively trade on Tuesday for the fourth straight session, the dealers said.
The rupee has been under pressure due to foreign investors exiting government securities and amid the country's economic woes.
Sri Lanka borrowed 25 percent more in 2015 than it did in 2014 due to high cost of refinancing loans raised by the previous government without parliamentary approval.
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