The Sri Lankan rupee ended marginally firmer on Friday, a day after a top central bank official warned against market manipulation, dealer said. The central bank on a net basis bought dollars from the market, Nandalal Weerasinghe, senior deputy governor at the central bank told Reuters. "The central bank bought $30 million from the market while we also sold some amount of dollars, but on a net basis, we bought dollars as we see the rupee is gradually stabilising," Weerasinghe told Reuters.
He said the weighted average value of the currency has appreciated from Thursday's close. On Wednesday, the rupee hit a fresh all-time low of 157.90 per dollar. The rupee closed at 157.50/90 per dollar on Friday, compared with Thursday's close of 157.80/158.00. "There was demand in the morning from importers and some fixed income outflows. We saw central bank selling dollars at 157.65," a currency dealers said asking not to be named.