COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan rupee closed weaker on Wednesday, hit by concerns over a lingering political crisis, as banks bought dollars to facilitate foreign capital outflows from rupee-denominated assets.
** Credit rating agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's downgraded Sri Lanka's sovereign rating on Tuesday, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after President Maithripala Sirisena's sacking of his prime minister in October triggered a political crisis.
** On Wednesday, Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka's financial institutions and Sri Lanka Telecom, citing sovereign downgrade.,,
** Foreigners sold a net 241.8 million rupees ($1.35 million) worth of stocks on Wednesday, and they have been net sellers of 9.3 billion rupees since the political crisis started on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 34.2 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Nov. 28, central bank data showed.
** This year, there have been 18.7 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 123.2 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank data showed.
** The rupee ended at 179.20/25 per dollar on Wednesday, compared with 179.00/20 in the previous session. It has weakened about 3.4 percent since the political crisis began. The currency fell 1.8 percent in November and 16.8 percent so far this year.
** The rupee hit a record low of 180.85 per dollar on Nov. 28, surpassing its previous low of 180.50 hit the previous day.
** Moody's downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances. ** The political paralysis remains the main concern of investors.
While Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Maithripala Sirisena have failed to win support in parliament for their new government, the deposed prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's coalition, which claims it does have majority support in parliament, has not been allowed to try to form a government. Although Rajapaksa was ousted via two confidence votes, he has refused to step down.
** The central bank on Nov. 14 unexpectedly raised its main interest rates to defend the rupee, which has faltered as foreign capital outflows pick up due to the domestic crisis as well as rising US interest rates.
** Five-year government bond yields have risen 45 basis points since the political crisis unfolded on Oct. 26, while yields on Sri Lanka's dollar bonds due in 2022 have risen by more than a percentage point to 8.13 percent since the crisis began.
** The Colombo stock index fell 0.24 percent to 5,997.23 on Wednesday. It had risen 1.5 percent last week, recording its first weekly gain in four. It gained 1.1 percent in November and has declined 5.8 percent so far this year. ** Stock market turnover was 614.7 million rupees on Wednesday, less than this year's daily average of 831.3 million rupees.
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