Sri Lankan rupee ends weaker as foreign outflows hurt

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker on Wednesday amid pressure on the currency due to foreign outflows from bonds and stocks as uncertainty from a political crisis dented sentiment.

** The political crisis was expected to ease after President Maithripala Sirisena reinstated Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom he had ousted in October. The country plunged into a 51-day crisis following the ouster. However, delay in appointing cabinet ministers dented sentiment, dealers said.

** Political paralysis remained the main concern for investors since Sirisena abruptly sacked Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who failed to win a parliamentary majority and resigned on Saturday as a government shutdown loomed.

** Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka’s prime minister on Sunday, making a remarkable comeback weeks after being ousted by President Sirisena under controversial circumstances. 

** The Sri Lankan rupee strengthened in early trade on Monday, while bond yields dropped as a seven-week political crisis appeared to ebb, but investors took a cautious stance to observe whether Sirisena and Wickremesinghe could work well together.

** Foreigners were net sellers of a net 333.5 million rupees ($1.85 million) worth of stocks on Wednesday. They have been net sellers of 11.7 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 56 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 14, central bank data showed. 

** The rupee ended at 180.50/70 per dollar, compared with 180.10/30 in the previous session. 

** Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating early December, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.

** This year, there have been 21.1 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 148.2 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank showed.

** The rupee had touched a record low of 180.85 to the dollar on Nov. 28. It has weakened about 4.1 percent since the political crisis began. The currency dropped 1.8 percent in November, and has lost 17.5 percent this year. 

** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances.

** Five-year government bond yields have risen 55 basis points since the political crisis began, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022, which have risen around a percentage point to 8.0 percent through Friday, fell 0.35 percent to 7.7 percent on Wednesday.

** The Colombo stock index ended up 0.06 percent at 6,050.95 on Wednesday. Turnover was 3.6 billion rupees, highest since Nov. 13 and more than four times of this year’s daily average of 834.1 million rupees.

($1 = 180.2000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Sri Lankan rupee ends weaker on foreign outflows

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker on Tuesday amid pressure on the currency due to foreign outflows from bonds and stocks as uncertainty from a lingering political crisis weighed on sentiment.

** The political crisis was expected to ease after President Maitthripala Sirisena reinstated Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom he ousted in October and plunged the country into a 51-day crisis.

** Political paralysis remained the main concern for investors since Sirisena abruptly sacked Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who failed to win a parliamentary majority and resigned on Saturday as a government shutdown loomed.

** Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka’s prime minister on Sunday, making a remarkable comeback weeks after being ousted by President Sirisena under controversial circumstances. 

** The Sri Lankan rupee strengthened in early trade on Monday, while bond yields dropped as a seven-week political crisis appeared to ebb, but investors took a cautious stance to observe whether Sirisena and Wickremesinghe could work well together.

** Foreigners were net sellers of a net 785 million rupees ($4.37 million) worth of stocks on Tuesday. They have been net sellers of 11.4 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 56 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 14, central bank data showed. 

** The rupee ended at 180.10/30 per dollar, compared with 179.90/180.00 in the previous session. 

** Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating early December, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.

** This year, there have been 20.8 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 148.2 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank showed.

** The rupee hit a record low of 180.85 to the dollar on Nov. 28. It has weakened about 3.8 percent since the political crisis began. The currency dropped 1.8 percent in November, and has lost 17.1 percent this year. 

** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances.

** Five-year government bond yields have risen 50 basis points since the political crisis began, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022 , which have risen around a percentage point to 8.0 percent through Friday, fell 0.4 percent to 7.6 percent on Tuesday.

** The Colombo stock index ended up 0.33 percent at 6,047.48 on Tuesday. Turnover was 979.2 million rupees, more than this year’s daily average of 822.3 million rupees.

($1 = 179.8000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Sri Lankan rupee ends steady as political crisis nears end

Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka's prime minister on Sunday

COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan rupee ended steady on Monday as political crisis in the South Asian island nation showed signs of easing after President Maithripala Sirisena reinstated the premier he had initially sacked in a widely criticised move, but foreign outflows from stocks weighed on sentiment.

Political paralysis remained the main concern for investors since Sirisena abruptly sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe from the prime minister's post and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who failed to win a parliamentary majority and resigned on Saturday as a government shutdown loomed.

Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka's prime minister on Sunday, making a remarkable comeback weeks after being ousted by President Sirisena under controversial circumstances.

The Sri Lankan rupee strengthened in early trade on Monday, while bond yields dropped as a seven-week political crisis appeared to ebb, but investors took a cautious stance to observe whether Sirisena and Wickremesinghe could work together.

Rajapaksa resigned soon after taking office and giving the country's president a political space to prevent an imminent government shutdown.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that President Sirisena's decision to dissolve parliament ahead of its term was unconstitutional, in a setback for the embattled leader in his dispute with an ousted prime minister.

If a budget is not approved by the parliament this month, the government might face a shutdown, government officials told Reuters.

Foreigners were net sellers of a net 18.1 million rupees ($100,723) worth of stocks on Monday. They have been net sellers of 10.6 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 56 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 14, central bank data showed.

The rupee which traded slightly firmer in the early trade ended steady at 179.90/180.00 per dollar, compared with 179.90/180.10 the previous session.

Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka's sovereign rating last week, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after Sirisena's sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.

This year, there have been 20 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 148.2 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank showed.

The rupee hit a record low of 180.85 to the dollar on Nov. 28. It has weakened about 3.8 percent since the political crisis began. The currency dropped 1.8 percent in November, and has lost 17.1 percent this year.

Moody's downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances.

Five-year government bond yields have risen 60 basis points since the political crisis began, while yields on Sri Lanka's dollar bonds due in have risen around a percentage point to 8.0 percent through Friday, fell 0.5 percent to 7.5 percent on Monday.

The Colombo stock index ended up 0.08 percent at 6,067.63 on Monday. Turnover was 133.8 million rupees, well below this year's daily average of 821.6 million rupees.

($1 = 179.7000 Sri Lankan rupees)

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) 

Sri Lankan rupee ends lower on foreign sell-off on uncertainty

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker on Friday amid pressure on the currency due to foreign outflows from bonds and stocks as uncertainty from a lingering political crisis weighed on sentiment.

** On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve parliament ahead of its term was unconstitutional, in a setback for the embattled leader in his dispute with an ousted prime minister.

** If a budget is not approved by parliament this month, the government might face a shutdown, government officials have told Reuters

** Foreigners were net buyers for the first time in 14 sessions on Friday, buying a net 56.6 million rupees ($314,969) worth of stocks. But they have been net sellers of 10.6 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 56 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 14, central bank data showed. 

** The rupee ended at 179.90/180.10 per dollar, compared with 179.55/75 the previous session. 

** Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating last week, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.

** This year, there have been 20 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 148.2 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank showed.

** The rupee hit a record low of 180.85 to the dollar on Nov. 28. It has weakened about 3.8 percent since the political crisis began. The currency fell 1.8 percent in November. It has lost 17.1 percent this year. 

** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances. 

** The political paralysis remains the main concern for investors since Sirisena abruptly sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as the prime minister and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was later voted out twice in parliament through confidence votes.

** Five-year government bond yields have risen 60 basis points since the political crisis began, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022 have risen around a percentage point to 8.21 percent since then.

** The Colombo stock index ended 0.04 percent up at 6,062.55 on Friday. Turnover was 296.8 million rupees, well below this year’s daily average of 824.6 million rupees.

($1 = 179.7000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez)

Sri Lankan rupee ends lower on foreign sell-off ahead of key ruling

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee ended a tad weaker on Thursday in dull trade amid pressure on the currency due to foreign outflows from bonds and stocks as a lingering political crisis weighed on sentiment ahead of a key ruling by the island nation’s Supreme Court.

** After the markets closed, the Supreme Court ruled that Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve parliament ahead of its term is unconstitutional, in a setback for the embattled leader in his dispute with an ousted prime minister.

** Foreigners sold a net 351.2 million rupees ($1.96 million) worth of stocks on Thursday, and they have been net sellers of 10.6 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 51.2 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 5, central bank data showed. 

** The rupee ended at 179.55/75 per dollar on Thursday, compared with 179.50/60 in the previous session. 

** Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating last week, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.

** This year, there have been 20 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 143.4 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank data showed.

** The rupee hit a record low of 180.85 per dollar on Nov. 28. It has weakened about 3.6 percent since the political crisis began. The currency fell 1.8 percent in November and dived 17 percent so far this year. 

** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances. 

** The political paralysis remains the main concern for investors since Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as the prime minister and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was later voted out twice in parliament through confidence votes. A court has barred Rajapaksa and his cabinet from functioning in their positions after they refused to step down despite being ousted via two confidence votes.

** Five-year government bond yields have risen 60 basis points since the political crisis began on Oct. 26, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022 have risen around a percentage point to 8.21 percent since then.

** The Colombo stock index ended 0.41 percent higher at 6,060.20 on Wednesday. The turnover was 675.4 million rupees, less than this year’s daily average of 826.9 million rupees.

($1 = 179.5000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez)

Sri Lankan rupee ends lower as foreign sell-off continues

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker on Wednesday, as foreign investors continued to exit from bonds and stocks as a lingering political crisis weighed on sentiment ahead of a key ruling by the island nation’s Supreme Court.

** The ruling, expected this week, will determine if the current parliament can continue the next year or whether an election should be held. The decision could help end the political crisis. 

** The Sri Lanka parliament on Wednesday passed a confidence vote to back controversially ousted prime minister, expecting the country’s president to reinstate him to prevent the ongoing political crisis and a possible government shut down.

** Foreigners sold a net 272.2 million rupees ($1.52 million) worth of stocks on Wednesday, and they have been net sellers of 10.3 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 51.2 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 5, central bank data showed. 

** Foreign investors sold a net 17 billion rupees ($95.3 million) worth of government securities in the week ended Dec. 5, the highest weekly net outflow since the third week of February 2017. The stock market had net foreign outflows to the tune of 929.1 million rupees last week.

** The rupee ended at 179.50/60 per dollar on Wednesday, compared with 179.20/40 in the previous session. 

** Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating last week, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after President Maithripala Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.

** On Dec 5, Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka’s financial institutions and Sri Lanka Telecom, citing the sovereign downgrade.

** This year, there have been 19.7 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 143.4 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank data showed.

** The rupee hit a record low of 180.85 per dollar on Nov. 28. It has weakened about 3.6 percent since the political crisis began. The currency fell 1.8 percent in November and dived 17 percent so far this year. 

** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances. 

** The political paralysis remains the main concern for investors. While Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Sirisena have failed to win support in parliament for their new government, the deposed prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s coalition, which claims it does have majority support in parliament, has not been allowed to try to form a government.

** A lower court has stayed Rajapaksa and his cabinet functioning in their positions after they refused to step down despite ousted via two confidence votes.

** The central bank on Nov. 14 unexpectedly raised its main interest rates to defend the rupee, which has faltered as foreign capital outflows pick up due to the domestic crisis as well as rising U.S. interest rates.

** Five-year government bond yields have risen 50 basis points since the political crisis unfolded on Oct. 26, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022 have risen by more than a percentage point to 8.43 percent since then.

** The Colombo stock index ended 0.15 percent higher at 6,035.27 on Wednesday; but has declined 5.2 percent so far this year. 

** Stock market turnover was 904.4 million rupees, more than this year’s daily average of 827.6 million rupees.

($1 = 179.5000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Sri Lankan rupee, stocks slide as political crisis spurs outflows

Reuters: ** The Sri Lankan rupee ended weaker on Tuesday, as foreign investors continued to exit from bonds and stocks as a lingering political crisis weighed on market sentiment ahead of a key ruling by the island nation’s Supreme Court.

** The ruling, expected this week, will determine if the current parliament can continue in the next year or an election should be held. The decision could help end the political crisis.

** Foreigners sold a net 165.7 million rupees ($928,812) worth of stocks on Tuesday, and they have been net sellers of 10 billion rupees since the political crisis began on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 51.2 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Dec. 5, central bank data showed. 

** Foreign investors sold a net 17 billion rupees ($95.3 million) worth of government securities in the week ended Dec. 5, the highest weekly net outflow since the third week of February 2017. The stock market had net foreign outflows to the tune of 929.1 million rupees last week.

** The rupee ended at 179.20/40 per dollar on Tuesday, compared with 179.00/20 in the previous session. 

** Credit rating agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating last week, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after President Maithripala Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered the political crisis.

** On Wednesday, Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka’s financial institutions and Sri Lanka Telecom, citing the sovereign downgrade.

** This year, there have been 19 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 143.4 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank data showed.

** The rupee hit a record low of 180.85 per dollar on Nov. 28, surpassing its previous low of 180.50 hit the previous day. It has weakened about 3.3 percent since the political crisis began. The currency fell 1.8 percent in November and has slid 16.5 percent so far this year. 

** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances. 

** The political paralysis remains the main concern for investors. While Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Sirisena have failed to win support in parliament for their new government, the deposed prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s coalition, which claims it does have majority support in parliament, has not been allowed to try to form a government.

** A lower court has stayed Rajapaksa and his cabinet functioning in their positions after they refused to step down despite ousted via two confidence votes.

** The central bank on Nov. 14 unexpectedly raised its main interest rates to defend the rupee, which has faltered as foreign capital outflows pick up due to the domestic crisis as well as rising U.S. interest rates.


** Five-year government bond yields have risen 40 basis points since the political crisis unfolded on Oct. 26, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022 have risen by more than a percentage point to 8.31 percent since then.

** The Colombo stock index fell 0.29 percent to 6,026.26 on Tuesday. It rose 0.83 percent last week after a 1.5 percent rise in the previous week. It has declined 5.4 percent so far this year. 

** Stock market turnover was 689.3 million rupees ($3.86 million), less than this year’s daily average of 827.3 million rupees.

($1 = 178.4000 Sri Lankan rupees) 

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)