Oct 3 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee ended firmer on Thursday on mild dollar sales by exporters, and is expected to gain in the near term on likely dollar inflows, dealers said. The rupee spot ended at 131.35/45 compared with Wednesday's close of 131.45/50. It has gained 0.4 percent so far this week. "There were dollar sales by exporters, but in thin volume," said a currency dealer. "We expect the rupee to gain further because of expected inflows from some corporate bonds." Some dealers said the weakening of the dollar overseas due to the partial U.S. government shutdown also helped sentiment. The dollar sagged to eight-month lows against a basket of currencies on Thursday as the U.S. government shutdown dragged on with no end in sight. The rupee hit a record low of 135.20 on Aug. 28, but has managed to stem further losses since then. It has risen 3.2 percent since hitting its all-time low. The currency is down 2.9 percent this year, after depreciating about 10 percent in 2012. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez; Editing by Anand Basu)

Source