 in two way quotes to be trading at Rs 321/321.50 to the US dollar due to sustained buying pressure by Central Bank of Sri Lanka){kind=link}
The benchmark ‘spot’ weakened for the third consecutive market day to today, this time by between 0.31-0.16 per cent (one-0.50 rupees) in two way quotes to be trading at Rs 321/321.50 to the US dollar due to sustained buying pressure by Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to uplift the country’s parlous foreign reserves, market sources who didn’t want to be named told ‘BMD.’
However, the ‘spot’ has gained by between 2.73 per cent to 5.44 per cent (9-18.50 rupees), to Rs 321/321.50 to the dollar in two way quotes, year on year (YoY) to today, thereby defraying cost-push inflationary pressure, data showed. A year ago (19 April 2022) the ‘spot’ was trading unchanged at Rs 330/340 to the dollar in two way quotes, statistics showed.
In related developments, CBSL weakened the official ‘spot’ for the second consecutive market day to today, this time by 0.07 per cent (Rs 0.07) to Rs 320.83 to the dollar. Nonetheless, a year ago, CBSL, then under the purview of Basil Rajapaksa who was the Finance Minister at that time, artificially strengthened the administered ‘spot’ sharply by 1.17 per cent (Rs 3.67) to Rs 310.00 to the dollar, thereby resulting in a YoY weakening of the official ‘spot’ by 3.49 per cent (Rs 10.83) to the dollar.
‘Spot’ trades are settled after two market days from the date of trading. CBSL the steward ofGovernment of Sri Lanka (GoSL) debt and of its foreign reserves deals in the official ‘spot.’ The official ‘spot’ is usually artificially propped up to minimize the cost of GoSL’s foreign debt in rupee terms and also to minimize GoSL’s foreign debt servicing costs in rupee terms.