COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan rupee fell marginally against the dollar on Wednesday as demand for the greenback from importers outpaced selling by a foreign bank.
The central bank, which had been trading the spot rupee at 143.90 per dollar recently until Monday, sold it at 145.70 via state-run banks for the second straight session, indicating the spot reference rate at 145.70, dealers said.
Officials from the central bank were not available for comment. The spot rupee has barely seen any trading since Jan. 27.
Though it was not actively traded on Wednesday, the movement in short-term dollar/rupee forwards indicated the rupee was being bid up.
The spot next dollar/rupee forwards, which indicate prices for the rupee on the day following the conventional spot rate settlement, and in this case are five days ahead, were being quoted as a proxy for the spot currency and were at 146.10/20 per dollar, compared with Tuesday's close of 146.00/20.
"Importer demand came in to the market after a foreign bank sold (dollars)," said a local bank currency dealer, requesting not to be named. Dealers also said the announcement of a $1.5 billion bond issue has helped instil some confidence.
On Friday, the IMF said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Sri Lankan authorities for a $1.5 billion, three-year loan to help the island nation avert a balance of payments crisis.
On Sunday, a top finance ministry official told Reuters that the government will raise $1.5 billion by selling 10-year sovereign bonds within the next 10 to 12 days.
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