REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended steady yesterday as a state-run bank sold dollars to offset importer demand for the greenback.

The rupee ended at 141.25/30 per dollar, unchanged from Tuesday’s close.

Dollar selling by one of two state-run banks through which the Central Bank directs the market, kept the rupee steady after it touched a record low on Monday.
Dealers said a foreign bank also sold dollars during the latter half of the day and that allowed the state-owned bank to stay out of the market.

The spot currency fell 0.3 percent to touch a record low of 141.40 on Monday, surpassing its previous all-time low of 141.00 hit on September 22.

“If not for the bank dollar selling, importer demand would have weighed on the currency,” a dealer said on condition of anonymity.