COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan rupee held steady near its three-month high on Wednesday as dollar sales by exporters and banks were offset by importer demand for the greenback.
Currency dealers said they expect the rupee to move within a narrow range in the short term with little volatility after the central bank governor said the rupee would "behave in a stable manner" in the next few months.
Spot rupee was unchanged at 0605 GMT from its Tuesday close of 131.20/25.
The rupee hit a record low of 135.20 on Aug. 28, but has managed to stem further losses since then.
"We expect the rupee to be stable in the short term. But there may be some downward pressure towards the end of the year due to seasonal dollar demand," a currency dealer said on condition of anonymity. "But I don't think there will be much depreciation due to the downward pressure."
Globally, the dollar was at 80.04 against a basket of currencies, close to an eight-month trough touched last week as the US government shutdown entered a second week.
Sri Lanka's main stock index was up 0.08 percent, or 4.65 points, at 5,901.70 at 0618 GMT.
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