Sri Lankan rupee gained on Thursday as foreign investors sold dollars to buy local bonds on hopes of higher returns after the central bank’s policy rate hike, dealers said.
The spot rupee, which was last actively traded on June 13, resumed trading on Wednesday. It traded at 145.60/70 per dollar at 0704 GMT, compared to an Wednesday’s indicative price of 145.80/90, dealer said.
“There is a lot of foreign buying in local bonds. The spot currency is being actively traded today,” said a currency dealer, asking not to be named.
“Foreign investors have been buying bonds since the IMF (International Monetary Fund) loan was approved and we see some sudden increase after the appointment of the new central bank governor and last week’s policy rate hike.”
The spot rupee is usually managed tightly by the central bank, and market participants use the forward market levels for guidance on the currency.
-Reuters
-Agencies
