Sri Lankan rupee forwards closed firmer on Monday as dollar selling by exporters and inward remittances outpaced the demand for the greenback from importers, dealers said. The spot currency and three-day forwards, or spot-next, were not traded after the central bank capped the currency at predetermined levels to prevent volatility, traders said. Central bank officials did not offer comment on whether limits were placed on the rupee's level.
Dealers said actively traded four-day forwards, or spot-next-next, ended at 131.92/97 per dollar, firmer from Friday's close of 131.95/132.00. "There were inward remittances and exporter conversions," said a currency dealer. "The rupee will start appreciating with the end of festival importer demand and with inward remittances and exporter conversions picking up" Overseas investors sold a net 1.55 billion rupees worth of government securities during the week ended December 3, the first outflow in three weeks. They sold a net 40.2 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($306.64 million) worth in the ten weeks through December 3, data from the central bank showed.