Rupee ends steady; remittances offset importer dollar demand

REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee closed steady yesterday as dollar sales by banks due to inward remittances were offset by demand for the US currency from importers to pay for their purchases, dealers said.

The spot rupee closed at 153.05/20 per dollar, little changed from Friday’s closing level of 153.05/12.

“Today importer demand (for dollars) matched with remittances. Still we could see some remittances coming in,” said a currency dealer who did not wish 
to be named.

The rupee has been under pressure since January after the Central Bank stopped defending the currency and started buying dollars to build up the country’s depleted foreign currency reserves.

The island nation had seen Rs.18 billion of net inflows into equities this year as of yesterday’s close, and Rs.29.1 billion worth inflows into government securities as of September 27 this year, official data showed.