Sri Lanka rupee ended down at 176.45/60 per dollar on Wednesday, compared with Tuesday's close of 176.30/60, market sources said. Analysts expect the rupee to weaken further as money flows out of stocks and government securities.
The rupee fell 0.03% last week but is up 3.48% for the year. Exporters had converted dollars as investors' confidence stabilised after a $1 billion sovereign bond was repaid in mid-January. ** The rupee dropped 16% in 2018 and was one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia.
Foreign investors sold a net 3.5 billion rupees worth of government securities in the week that ended on June 4, extending the island nation's net foreign outflow to 21.9 billion rupees so far this year, central bank data showed.
The central bank cut its key interest rates on May 31 to support a faltering economy as overall business and consumer confidence slumped following deadly bomb attacks in April.