Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka rupee steady after volatile week
April 24, 2009 (LBO) – The rupee weakened to 120.70 levels against the US dollar, with a foreign bank on the buying side Friday, but recovered later in the day ending a week that saw the domestic currency fall about four rupees, dealers said. In late afternoon trade the spot dollar was quoted at 120.0/30 […]
Sri Lankan stocks gain on bullish sentiment
April 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks rose across the board Thursday on mostly retail buying, with the main index up 1.82 percent, spurred by rate cuts but the rupee weakened below 120 against the dollar in the spot markets, dealers said. The rupee weakened to be quoted as low as 120.65/90 before recovering […]
Sri Lanka converts state dollar loans to bonds
April 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has converted hundreds of millions of dollar denominated loans from state banks in a move that will improve the transparency of government debt and make them marketable, an official said. The bonds could now be offered to any investor when they are rolled over increasing access and state […]
Sri Lanka rupee dips below 120.0 to the dollar
April 23, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee weakened below the psychological 120.00 level against the US dollar in spot trade to 120.80 before recovering, as the local currency continued float freely, dealers said. The rupee fall come amidst a collapse in import volumes and an unprecedented contraction in the trade deficit. The rupee […]
Sri Lankan stocks propelled by more gains in war
Apr 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares extended gains Wednesday as the military rescued more civilians trapped in a no-fire-zone in an offensive to crush the 25-year-old Tamil Tiger separatist rebellion, brokers said. The All Share Price Index of the Colombo stock exchange rose 1.35 percent (23.64 points) to end at 1,777.58 while the […]
Sri Lanka cuts rates by 175bp to boost lending
April 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has cut its de facto signal policy rate by 175 basis points to 13.0 percent to spur lending as credit to the private sector fell 5.6 percent in February, and trimmed the repo rate to discourage excess reserves. The rate cuts come as the rupee is […]
Sri Lanka rupee looks for direction, amid rate cut
April 22, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee edged lower but recovered before hitting a psychological 120.00 level against the greenback, Wednesday with some exporters taking profits, dealers said.The rupee opened wide at 118.75/119.25 a day after the central bank talked up the rupee, weakening towards 119.65/120.00 and recovering to 119.00/119.10 levels later in […]
Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields fall after rate cut
April 22, 2009 (LBO) – Yields at the weekly Treasury bill auction plunged across the board with the 12-month yield falling 100 basis points to 15.40 percent, the government’s debt office said, after a 175 basis point rate cut earlier in the day.The 6-month yield fell 98 basis points to 14.90 percent and the 3-month […]
Sri Lanka stocks driven up by banking sector
Apr 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares continued their positive run Tuesday, led by banking stocks with investors upbeat that the three-decade ethnic war would be soon over, brokers said. Foreign buying was at 25.7 million rupees, while foreign selling amounted to 95.4 million. Conglomerate John Keells Holdings, which has business interest in finance, […]
Sri Lanka foreign reserves US$1.36bn in February; rupee opens weaker
April 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross foreign reserves in February 2009 were 1,369 million US dollars down from 1,415 million US dollars in January, the central bank said as the rupee opened weaker.The rupee opened weaker at 117.60/90 against the US dollar in spot trade Tuesday, dealers said, and was later quoted at […]
Sri Lanka IMF loan finalized within days: Central Bank Governor
April 21, 2009 (LBO) – The final touches to an International Monetary Fund loan would be wrapped up within days and the first tranche is expected in less than three weeks, Central Bank governor Nivard Cabraal said. “Within two weeks or three weeks at the most, the first tranche of the IMF facility will come,” […]
Sri Lanka to chair regional forum at Washington meet: CB chief
April 20, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will chair a meeting of South Asian central bank chiefs on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings later this week, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. To develop domestic-oriented economy or successfully ‘stimulate’ an economy through looser policy (money printing) a country has […]