Sri Lankan rupee forwards ended firmer on Friday as a state-owned bank sold dollars to select traders amid moral suasion by the central bank and importer demand for the greenback, dealers said. Dollar/rupee forwards, known as spot next, closed at 147.00/05 per dollar, compared with Thursday's close of 147.75/90.
Spot next, which acts as a proxy for the spot currency, indicates the exchange rate for the day following conventional spot settlement, which is five days ahead for Friday's trade. The spot currency was not traded on Friday. The spot rupee reference rate has been pegged at 145.75, dealers said. Sri Lanka's central bank had fixed the spot rate at 143.90 per dollar until May 2.