Sri Lankan five-day rupee forwards ended steady on Friday as dollar selling by a state bank helped offset demand for the greenback from importers, dealers said. The forwards, which act as a proxy for the spot currency and are called spot next, ended flat at 146.20/50 per dollar. It hit an intra-day high of 145.00 per dollar on Thursday as a state bank sold dollars. This was seen by brokers as an intervention from the central bank to keep the currency steady.
The spot rupee, which has not been active since January 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 intervention was there today also. The state bank sold (dollars) in the range of 146.00 to 146.30 for select trades," a currency dealer said asking not to be named.