The Sri Lankan rupee weakened further against the US dollar on Wednesday, with commercial bank selling rates climbing to Rs. 346.50 — a new high for the current depreciation cycle that began in late April.
Commercial Bank quoted the dollar at Rs. 335.39 buying and Rs. 346.50 selling, up from Rs. 327.45 and Rs. 338.50 a day earlier. Sampath Bank matched the headline number at Rs. 337.50 buying and Rs. 346.50 selling, against Rs. 330.50 and Rs. 339.50 on Tuesday.
People’s Bank moved its selling rate to Rs. 345.20 from Rs. 340.67 — itself only set on Tuesday as a cycle record — with the buying rate at Rs. 335.64. Seylan Bank quoted Rs. 333.75 / Rs. 345.50 and NDB Bank Rs. 335 / Rs. 345.
EconomyNext reported the interbank telegraphic transfer rate at Rs. 334.50 / Rs. 343.50 selling, with no spot quote available — extending the no-spot-FX-market pattern that has framed rupee coverage since late April.
Bond yields moved higher and wider through the day. A bond maturing on 15.12.2029 was quoted at 10.20/35 percent, the 01.11.2033 paper at 11.30/35 (up from 11.10/35) and the 15.06.2034 at 11.30/45. The 15.08.2036 bond was quoted at 11.40/60 percent.
The renewed slide comes a day after foreign investors turned net sellers of Sri Lanka rupee bonds for the first time in 2026 — a US$14.7 million outflow to mid-May that tipped cumulative offshore flows negative. SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne and other opposition voices have flagged the back-to-back records as evidence the central bank’s no-spot-FX intervention regime is losing traction; Finance Minister Vijitha Herath on Tuesday told Parliament US$700 million in IMF and ADB inflows expected by end-May would absorb the pressure.
