Sri Lanka rupee edges down

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan rupee edged down in dull trade as importer demand for dollars outpaced early greenback sales by banks, while the currency is still under downward pressure due to a lack of foreign inflows, dealers said.
The rupee spot next or one-day forward, which was active in the market in the absence of spot trade, ended at 133.05/10 per dollar, slightly weaker from Monday’s close of 133.00/10.
“There was importer dollar demand in the market in thin trade,” a currency dealer said.
Dealers said the rupee cannot be defended for long without strong dollar inflows.
The rupee hit a record low of 135.20 per dollar last week, before recovering slightly.
Spot rupee was quoted at 133.00, Thomson Reuters data showed.
The rupee has been falling since early July with foreign investors pulling out of Sri Lankan treasury bonds as US Treasury yields rose on expectations the Federal Reserve would soon begin to taper its massive bond buying program.
The rupee has fallen 5 percent since June 7 and nearly 4.1 percent so far this year, after depreciating by around 10 percent in 2012.