The Sri Lankan rupee weakened further against the US dollar on Monday, with retail selling rates at most commercial banks climbing by about Rs. 2 to Rs. 334 — a fresh low that extends a string of post-cyclone depreciation prints.
According to a Newswire survey of bank-published rates, NDB Bank’s buying/selling pair moved to Rs. 327.75/Rs. 334.25 from Rs. 324.25/Rs. 330.75. Commercial Bank rates rose to Rs. 325.71/Rs. 334.25 from Rs. 323.23/Rs. 331.75. Sampath Bank also moved to Rs. 327.75/Rs. 334.25 from Rs. 325.25/Rs. 331.75. People’s Bank reported buying at Rs. 327.19 (up from Rs. 325.21) and selling at Rs. 334.41 (up from Rs. 332.39). Seylan Bank’s pair held at Rs. 322.35/Rs. 331.10.
The Monday print extends a depreciation trend that has accelerated through May. Retail TT selling rates touched Rs. 332 last Thursday, the steepest one-day drop since the 2022 crisis, with the CBSL middle rate at Rs. 331 — its weakest since December 2023. The rupee has now slid by close to Rs. 14 since mid-April, when retail selling rates hovered around Rs. 319.
The slide is colliding with a separate set of policy pressures. Central Bank Deputy Governor Chandranath Amarasekara told the Committee on Public Finance last week that Sri Lanka had returned to a small current account deficit — the first since the 2022 default — driven by a sharp rise in oil imports and the Cyclone Ditwah trade hit. The government has separately rolled out a 50% customs surcharge on vehicle imports and a three-month, Rs. 57 billion fuel-price subsidy to manage external pressure and pump-price politics in parallel.
Source: Newswire.
