Sri Lanka's rupee closed weaker on Monday as state banks bought dollars on behalf of importers, traders said. The rupee closed at 101.65/101.68 against Friday's 101.60/101.63, with dealers warning the market could be in for a volatile couple of weeks ahead of a November 17 presidential election.

"State banks were covering ... some imports," said one trader, although he said he did know what imports were involved.

Copyright Reuters, 2005