Rupee falls to new record low

Colombo (News1st) - The Selling price of the Sri Lankan rupee reached a new low on Friday (Aug 24th) against the US Dollar to 162.11. A research carried out by the University of Colombo identifies that exchange rate volatility affects export competitiveness. It adds that it has an impact on export growth as well and concludes that Sri Lanka's export trading activities could be expanded by maintaining a stable competitive real exchange rate. Speaking to News1st, President of the National Chamber of Exporters Ramal Jasinghe noted that the immediate issues facing exporters is the fluctuating exchange rate and that it important to provide some sort of stability against the US Dollar. Jasinghe rejected the notion that exporters benefit from the weakening of the Rupee and noted that on some occasions their costs increase due to imports they have to make for value additions for their products. The President of the National Chamber of Exporters believes that the Central Bank should consider intervening to provide stability to the currency.