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The Sri Lankan rupee, despite experiencing a depreciation observed by the dynamics on a month-to-month basis, has recorded a marginal appreciation in July 2026, against the US dollar in 2026 so far, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Monetary Policy Review No 04 of 2026 held yesterday (22).

“The Sri Lankan rupee has stabilised in recent weeks, following the impact of policy measures taken thus far. In the month of July the Sri Lankan rupee recorded a marginal appreciation during the policy review time period,” said CBSL Director and Economic Research Dr L R C Pathberiya.

“Despite experiencing depreciation pressures due to geopolitical conflicts, with the rupee weakening against the US dollar, exchange rate conditions gradually stabilised as macroeconomic conditions eased slightly,” Pathberiya said.

The Sri Lankan rupee recently held steady and saw slight appreciation phases hovering around Rs 336.23 per US dollar according to the Central Bank, reflecting a resilient progress in the foreign exchange market. 

“However even though the Rupee recorded a recent appreciation, the rupee recorded monthly depreciation of 1.3% in the month of April, 2.6% in May, and 2.6% in June, repetitively,” Pathberiya added. “Overall, the currency has depreciated by 7.8% against the US dollar so far in 2026, following the Middle East tension,” he said.