Rupee appreciates with flow of funds- CB

By L.S.A. Wedaarachchi

The Sri Lanka rupee has appreciated during the last few weeks. The value of the rupee has risen and the buying rate of a US Dollar was Rs. 108. 33 last Thursday.

The rupee was valued at Rs. 107. 63 against the Dollar last year. The buying rate of a sterling pound was Rs. 220. 09 last Thursday and it was Rs. 211. 69 last year.Director, Economic Research Department Central Bank Dr. P.N. Weerasinghe said that due to the flow of foreign funds to the country, the value of the rupee has appreciated. The recent us$ 500 million international bond issue, the treasury bond issue this year and Tsunami international assistance were cited by him as the flow of funds to Sri Lanka.

Explaining the present inflation level in Sri Lanka, he said that inflation is controlled by two main factors, namely demand drivan factors and the external factors."The government has taken steps to control the demand driven factors. External factors such as oil prices cannot be controlled," he said.