This is the current AUD-LKR mid-market exchange rate. The Total Cost of buying foreign currency in the above table is calculated as the sum of all fees and the exchange rate margin, which is the difference between the provider's exchange rate and the mid-market AUD-LKR exchange rate.
Whenever you are researching a particular exchange rate you are actually interested in two currencies as the value of a currency must always be quoted relative to a second currency.
So it follows that if you are determining the best time to transact, in this case the AUD vs LKR, you should pay attention to both Australian Dollar and Sri Lankan Rupee news and forecasts.
Following a flash crash in early January, which saw the Australian dollar briefly trade at a 10-year low of $0.674, the Aussie recovered to $0.73, but then, as it had done before the flash crash, it commenced with a slow and steady decline, and it was back at $0.705 in mid-March and was predicted to fall further.
In February, HSBC predicted a year-end AUD/USD rate of $0.66. In March, Westpac and JP Morgan were slightly more upbeat and argued for $0.68.
Fuelling lower exchange rate forecasts is the Australian economic story, for which major themes include a housing market slump, Chinese growth and the US-China trade spat. The RBA slashed growth forecasts in February and markets are now pricing in 1-2 interest rate cuts this year.
Another Aussie exchange rate worth mentioning is AUD/GBP, which sank in mid-March to its lowest level in nearly 3 years, at just £0.53. The Australian dollar has been unable to compete with the pound of late, since the latter benefits every time the British government fails to make a decision on how to deliver Brexit (every time Brexit appears less likely or to be delayed).
As of September 2018, Sri Lanka is at the top of a list of seven emerging market countries that are most likely to join nations such as Turkey and Argentina in a currency crisis according to the investment bank Nomura. "Sri Lanka is at risk of a crisis erupting at any time," the economists noted.
"With foreign exchange reserves of less than five months of import cover and high short-term external debt of around $US7.5 billion, its refinancing needs are large. Political stability also remains an issue."
Sorry, our travel money calculators are currently only available for comparing exchange rates rates for buying foreign cash and travel money in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the USA.
