The Sri Lankan rupee closed weaker for the fourth consecutive session on Monday, as worries about more attacks after the Easter Sunday bombings weighed on investor sentiment, while stocks extended gains into the fourth day after hitting a more than six-year closing low last week. The currency traded 0.2 percent weaker at 175.60 per dollar intraday before closing at 175.50/90, 0.1 percent lower than Friday's close of 175.30/80, market sources said.
Analysts fear it could weaken further due to outflows from stocks and government securities.
The island's currency lost 0.8 percent last week, but is up 4.1 percent so far this year, as exporters converted dollars amid stabilising investor confidence after the country repaid a $1 billion sovereign bond in mid-January. The rupee dropped 16 percent in 2018, and was one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia due to heavy foreign outflows.