Rupee continues to weaken

Thursday, 21 May 2026 06:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Sri Lankan rupee weakened further yesterday against the US dollar, with commercial bank telegraphic transfer (TT) rates and spot market contracts extending losses amid continued pressure in the foreign exchange market.

The TT dollar buying and selling rates were quoted at Rs. 332.09 and Rs. 342.70, respectively, yesterday, compared with Rs. 328.23 and Rs. 338.07 the previous day.

The latest movement also marked a further weakening from Monday’s TT rates of Rs. 326.74 and Rs. 334.27.

Meanwhile, spot USD/LKR contracts were seen trading within a range of Rs. 329.25 to Rs. 330.25 yesterday, compared with the previous session’s range between Rs. 327.85 and Rs. 328.90.

The continued depreciation comes amid heightened dollar demand, rising fuel import costs, and broader uncertainty linked to global market conditions and tensions in the Middle East.

The pick-up in the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar began with the Mideast war. The rupee had weakened 1.4% year-to-date (YTD) 27 March, weakened further to 2.9% YTD 30 April, and 4.5% YTD 15 May.