Exchange Rates on 18-Mar-09 

(1) The average rates of the following currencies quoted by
commercial banks in Colombo.

Currency		Buying Rate	Selling Rate

U.S. Dollar		113.47		115.10
Sterling Pound	159.04		162.22
EURO		147.37		150.62
Swiss Franc	95.49		98.27
Canadian Dollar	88.78		91.38
Australian Dollar	74.55		76.75
Singapore Dollar	73.91		75.63
Japanese Yen	1.1475		1.1758

(2) The approximate exchange rates of GULF Currencies,
based on previous day’s market weighted average rate
for the US$ are as follows:

Country		Currency		Indicative Rate

Bahrain		Dinar		303.02
Kuwait		Dinar		389.84
Oman		Rial		296.69
Qatar		Riyal		31.37
Saudi Arabia	Riyal		30.46
UAE		Dirham		31.10

(3) The Average Weighted Prime Lending Rate (AWPLR) and the Lowest
Prime Rate (LPR) during the week ended 13th March, 2009 by all
commercial banks were 18.27 per cent and 11.00 per cent respectively.

(4) The Average Weighted Deposit Rate (AWDR) of commercial
banks for the month of February, 2009 was 11.55 per cent.