Rupee steady; dealers wary of Budget impact

Friday, 22 November 2013 06:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: The rupee ended steady on Thursday as dealers were reluctant to trade the spot rupee above 131.10, a level seen desirable by the Central Bank, but currency forwards fell due to importer dollar demand, dealers said. The spot rupee ended flat at 131.10/15 per dollar. It was shy of the 14 November close of 131.10/20, the lowest since 4 October. While presenting the 2014 Budget, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Finance Minister, said maintaining a flexible exchange rate regime along with productivity improvement is important to achieve the export revenue target of $20 billion in 2020. Dealers and banks are wary of the budget impact on the rupee. “This seems to be a pro-exporter policy. But in a Sri Lankan context, the flexibility means the rupee has to be depreciated,” a currency dealer said. However, other dealers said there will be hardly any change in the Central Bank’s exchange rate policy as it is already under a flexible regime. Dealers said spot nexts were active as banks were reluctant to trade the spot rupee above 131.10, the level seen desirable by the Central Bank. Three-day forward or spot next, which was active in the market, was traded at 131.20/30 per dollar, weaker than Wednesday’s close of 131.13/18. The rupee hit a record low of 135.20 on 28 August, but has managed to stem further losses and has gained 3.10% since then.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.