COLOMBO, (Reuters) - Sri Lanka’s rupee closed flat on Monday with intervention from a state bank amid a possible IMF assistance, while shares fell 1.93 percent on economic and earning woes. Sri Lanka’s central bank on Monday said it was examining

International Monetary Fund (IMF) financing, which is expected to be around $1.5 billion, after a sharp fall in foreign currency reserves. The rupee closed at 114.25/115.40 per dollar, little changed from Monday’s 114.25/35. On Friday it hit an all-time low of 115.75/95 before closing at 114.20/40.

Four analysts from four banks Reuters spoke to said one state bank, through which the Central Bank directs the market, offereddollars at 114.25, while all other banks stuck around that level.

Traders said the Central Bank’s indirect intervention in the market was the reason for other banks to quote narrow ranges.

The rupee has been falling steadily after the Central Bank reduced heavy intervention designed to prevent sharp depreciation that cost it a sizeable chunk of foreign exchange reserves.

Sri Lanka’s gross official foreign reserves have fallen to 50 percent in four months to $1.75 billion at the end of December, sufficient to cover only six weeks of imports, data showed.

Fitch Ratings downwardly revised Sri Lanka’s outlook on Friday over its external finance position and the rupees continuous slide. The rupee has fallen around 5.51 percent since Oct. 30, after the Central Bank allowed gradual and limited depreciation to preserve dollars and enhance exporter competitiveness. It is down 1.14 percent so far this year. The Colombo All-Share index fell 1.93 points to 1639.47, its fifth straight fall to lowest close since Jan. 15. “Liquidity problems, earning worries, the macroeconomic situation and the global economic downturn are having an adverse impact on the market,” said Mohandas Thangarajah, a stockbroker at First Guardian Equities. Sri Lanka’s top conglomerate, John Keells Holdings fell 3.8 percent to 57 rupees, calculated on a weighted average, while shares in Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka closed 3.61 percent weaker at 60 rupees. Market heavyweight Sri Lanka Telecom fell 2.19 percent to 33.50 rupees, after Fitch rating agency downwardly revised its outlook to negative from stable.

Top mobile phone operator Dialog Telekom fell 2.0 percent to its life low of 4.70 rupees after Fitch Ratings downgraded its national long-term rating and cut its outlook to negative from stable. The bourse is still up 9.1 percent so far this year afterfalling 40.8 percent in 2008, largely on corporate earnings crunched by high borrowing costs that cut growth.

Market turnover was 62.5 million rupees ($0.55 million), less than a seventh of the 2008 daily average of 464 million rupees.

The interbank lending rate or call money rate edged down to 13.344 percent from Monday’s 13.438 percent.