COLOMBO: Sri Lankan five-day rupee forwards rose on Thursday as dollar selling by a state bank offset heavy demand for the greenback by importers, dealers said.
The forwards, which act as a proxy for the spot currency and are called spot next, traded at 146.60/80 per dollar at 0916 GMT, firmer from Wednesday's close of 149.25/35.
The spot rupee, which has not been active since Jan. 27, did not trade. The central bank has fixed the spot trading price at 143.90 through moral suasion, dealers said.
Central bank officials were not available for comment.
"The state bank intervened and sold dollars and the spot next gained from 149.20 to around 145.00 levels," a currency dealer said asking not to be named.
"This is a window-dressing exercise because of March 31," the dealer said, referring to the end of the quarter when banks have to file their accounts.
Dealers said the move could help the government show the currency had really not depreciated in the given quarter.
The one-week forwards, which have been active since Jan. 27 and were hovering near record lows, did not actively trade on Thursday, dealers said.
The rupee has been under pressure due to foreign investors exiting government securities and amid the country's economic woes.
Sri Lanka's 2015 borrowing jumped more than 25 percent compared with the previous year due to high cost of refinancing loans, raised by the previous government without parliamentary approval, the finance minister said last week.
The central bank on Tuesday kept key policy rates steady, and said it was gauging the impact of recent tightening measures amid government efforts to secure a $1.5-billion IMF loan, which is needed to avert a balance of payments crisis.
Sri Lanka's main stock index was up 0.57 percent at 6,075.70 by 0900 GMT. Turnover stood at 699 million rupees ($4.76 million).
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