Sri Lankan rupee remains steady - Dow Jones

COLOMBO (Dow Jones) The Sri Lankan rupee closed steady Wednesday as importer demand for the U.S. currency was offset by sales.

The dollar ended unchanged at LKR 99.30 from Tuesday on moderate volumes.

Traders said the dollar opened the session higher at LKR 99.40 and hit an intraday high of LKR 99.42 as importers bought dollars to meet some payments.

"Some foreign as well as local banks sold at that level which in turn pushed the pair down," said a trader, attributing the selling to profit taking and some exporters liquidating dollar proceeds.

The overnight call money rate ended unchanged at 8.1% amid a sustained liquidity surplus of around LKR 10 billion and an absence of borrowings.

Secondary bond yields also remained steady in light overall trade.

The forex and money markets didn't react to Wednesday's decision by the central bank to keep policy rates unchanged at its monthly review because the move was widely expected.

The central bank left the overnight repurchase rate at 7.5% and the reverse repo rate at 9% despite rising inflation. Analysts attributed the move to concerns that a rate hike could slow Sri Lanka's economy.