The Sri Lankan rupee ended slightly higher on Tuesday, as late exporter dollar sales surpassed importer demand for greenbacks amid fears that economic policies of US President-elect Donald Trump could lead to a rise in the dollar and trigger foreign fund outflows. The market shrugged off the central bank's key monetary policy decision on Tuesday to keep rates unchanged. Dealers said investors are yet to digest the impact of the decision.
At the post-monetary policy media briefing, central bank Governor Indrajith Coomaraswamy said aggressive monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve would have an impact on foreign outflows. Foreign investors have net sold 38.93 billion rupees ($262.69 million) worth of government securities in the six weeks ended November 23, ahead of an expected Fed rate hike in December.