Exchange Rates on 19-Jan-09 in SLRS

(1) The average rates of the following currencies quoted by commercial banks in Colombo.

Currency		Buying Rate	Selling Rate
U.S. Dollar		113.12		114.75
Sterling Pound	167.69		171.07
Euro		150.43		153.79
Swiss Franc	100.55		103.56
Canadian Dollar	90.59		93.25
Australian Dollar	76.33		78.62
Singapore Dollar	75.81		77.58
Japanese Yen	1.2376		1.2688

(2) The approximate exchange rates of GULF Currencies, based on previous day’s market weighted average rate for the US$ are as follows:

Country		Currency		Indicative Rate
Bahrain		Dinar		302.13
Kuwait		Dinar		400.69
Oman		Rial		295.83
Qatar		Riyal		31.27
Saudi Arabia	Riyal		30.37
UAE		Dirham		31.01

(3) The Average Weighted Prime Lending Rate (AWPLR) and the Lowest Prime Rate (LPR) during the week ended 16th January, 2009 by all commercial banks were 18.60 per cent and 15.28 per cent respectively.

(4) The Average Weighted Deposit Rate (AWDR) of Commercial banks for the month of December, 2008 was 11.63 per cent.