The Sri Lankan rupee edged down on Friday due to importer dollar demand, with dealers expecting the currency to weaken further in 2016 due to lower reserves and higher imports. The rupee closed at 143.65/80 per dollar, 0.03 percent down from Thursday's close of 143.60/80. It hit a record low of 143.80 on Tuesday.
"Given Sri Lanka's high dependency on imports and lower foreign currency reserves that would limit central bank's intervention to defend the currency, the rupee will continue to weaken," a currency dealer said, asking not to be named. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake on Thursday told parliament that Sri Lanka's reserves were at "a healthy" $6.1 billion. However, that figure is 26 percent lower than the reserves at the end of 2014.
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