The Sri Lankan rupee depreciated sharply against the US dollar on Thursday, with the selling rate breaching Rs.340 at multiple commercial banks in a single session, Newswire reported.
Seylan Bank quoted the highest rate of the day at Rs.342 on the selling side and Rs.329.25 on the buying side, up Rs.3 on both legs from Wednesday’s quotes. People’s Bank moved its selling rate to Rs.340.31 from Rs.337.77 (up Rs.2.54) and its buying rate to Rs.330.94 from Rs.328.48 (up Rs.2.46), the news agency said.
NDB Bank’s selling rate rose Rs.2 to Rs.339, while Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Sampath Bank each moved their selling rates Rs.3 higher to Rs.339.50. Buying rates at the two banks climbed to Rs.328.44 and Rs.330.50 respectively.
The single-day move of Rs.2 to Rs.3 is the steepest of the cycle and pushes the selling rate back to the Rs.340 cycle high first recorded at People’s Bank on May 19. The rupee had ended Wednesday at Rs.334.50/335.50 by the EconomyNext market-close print, after breaching Rs.336 on Tuesday.
The depreciation extends a slide the Central Bank’s Weekly Economic Indicators tracked at 5.4 percent year-to-date through end-April. It comes alongside an April fuel-import bill of USD 886 million — the highest monthly print on record — and the year’s first flip into a current account deficit that the CBSL disclosed last week. Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe warned on Monday that headline inflation could climb to 7 percent over the coming months if Middle East tensions and oil prices persist.
