Sri Lankan rupee closed firmer at 175.50/60 per dollar on Wednesday, compared with Tuesday's close of 175.70/80, as dollar sales by banks surpassed importer greenback demand. The rupee rose 0.17% last week, and is up 4.04% so far this year. The rupee dropped 16% in 2018 and was one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia.
The island nation raised $2 billion via 5-year and 10-year sovereign bond sales last month, tapping global capital markets for the second time in three months. Foreign investors sold a net 3.93 billion rupees worth of government securities in the week ended July 3, extending the year-to-date net foreign outflow to 22.4 billion rupees, the central bank data showed.