The Sri Lankan rupee ended firmer on Monday as exporters and some foreign banks sold the dollar, surpassing importer demand for the US currency, traders said. The rupee traded at 159.90 early in the session and closed at 159.45/65 per dollar, compared with Friday's close of 159.90/160.05. It has declined 3.9 percent so far this year and hit a record low of 160.17 on June 20. Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered Sri Lanka a fresh grant of 2 billion yuan ($295 million), as Beijing looks to expand its influence in the tiny island country off India's southern tip.
"There was (dollar) demand but foreign banks were on the selling side today. Maybe after the news of Chinese grant they are selling," said a currency dealer asking not to be named. Sri Lanka's central bank governor, Indrajit Coomaraswamy, had said earlier that the rupee's decline was driven mainly by factors outside of Sri Lanka and that emerging-market currencies were under pressure.
Comments
Comments are closed.