COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan rupee recovered from a near record low on Wednesday as importer demand for the US currency was met through dollar sales by a private bank, dealers said.
The dealers said expectations of a further fall in the rupee discouraged exporters from converting their dollar earnings.
The rupee traded at 143.95/144.10 per dollar at 0618 GMT, 0.21 percent higher than Tuesday's close of 144.25/45, its near-record closing low.
"The rupee is trading firmer as a private bank started selling dollars from 144.20 to 144.00, which prevented the fall," said a currency dealer, requesting not to be named.
Another dealer said a state-run bank bought most of the dollars and then suddenly stopped buying.
To instil investor confidence, the central bank said on Monday it would lift all restrictions on outflows by nationals who send money that's earned in foreign currencies.
Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran said a steep fall in the rupee has slowed and currency seems to be stabilising at the current level, due to inflows from remittances.
The central bank's decision to tighten liquidity in the money market with effect from Jan. 16 is yet to ease pressure on the rupee. Sri Lanka's main stock index was down 0.23 percent, or 15.42 points, at 6,829.88 at 0632 GMT.
Turnover stood at 1.26 billion rupees ($8.76 million) due to a block deal in Tal Lanka Hotels Plc.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.