The Sri Lankan rupee ended firmer on Friday, helped by inward dollar remittances, but foreign investors continued to exit from bonds and stocks as a lingering political crisis weighed on market sentiment. The rupee ended at 178.70/85 per dollar on Friday, compared with 179.15/20 in the previous session. It gained to 178.50 during the trade due to dollar inflows from remittances.
Foreign investors sold a net 17 billion rupees ($95.3 million) worth of government securities in the week ended on Nov. 5, the highest weekly net outflows since the third week of February 2017. The stock market had net foreign outflows to the tune of 929.1 million rupees this week.
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. It has weakened about 3.1 percent since the political crisis began. The currency fell 1.8 percent in November and 16.3 percent so far this year.

Copyright Reuters, 2018

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