Sri Lankan rupee edged up at 176.25/35 per dollar, compared with Friday's close of 176.40/50, market sources said. The rupee rose 0.17% last week and is up 3.6% so far this year.
The island nation raised $2 billion via 5-year and 10-year sovereign bond sales last week, tapping global capital markets for the second time in three months. Analysts expect the rupee to weaken further as money flows out of stocks and government securities.
The rupee dropped 16% in 2018 and was one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia. Foreign investors bought a net 2.26 billion rupees worth of government securities in the week ended June 26, but the island nation's net foreign outflow was at 18.4 billion rupees so far this year, the 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.