The Sri Lankan rupee ended steady in dull trade on Friday as the central bank defended it via moral suasion, a day after the monetary authority allowed a 10 cent fall in the spot amid tepid dollar demand from importers, dealers said. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said on February 9 that the rupee would be held steady at current levels and "there won't be any devaluation at all". The spot currency ended steady at 132.90/133.10 per dollar. "The spot (rupee) ended steady under restrictive market conditions in dull trade," said a currency dealer asking not to be named.
Central bank officials were not immediately available for comment. The central bank has been defending the spot currency's level at 132.80 since February 6 through Wednesday, before allowing it to trade 10 cents lower against the dollar. Trading in most forwards was thin after the central bank lowered the per day premium to 2 cents on February 9 from 5 cents, dealers said.