(Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee edged down on Tuesday due to late importer dollar demand after the central bank kept its key policy rates unchanged at multi-year lows in line with market expectations. Dealers said they expect the currency to remain steady in the near future until credit demand rebounds. The spot rupee ended at 130.62/67 per dollar, weaker from Monday's close of 130.60/62. Before the market opened, the central bank kept policy rates steady at multi-year lows, as expected, and expressed confidence that private sector credit growth would rebound in the second quarter and push up the pace of economic expansion. "The rupee will remain at these levels until we see growth in private sector borrowing. We haven't seen that happening yet," said a currency dealer. Private sector credit grew 4.4 percent year-on-year in February, the slowest since May 2010, latest data from the central bank showed. That compared with a growth of 5.2 percent in January this year and 13.3 percent in February 2013. Dealers said the market is awaiting some direction from the weekly treasury bill auction due Wednesday, to see if the central bank would allow yields on T-bills to ease further. They expect the rupee to trade in a range of 130.60-70 in the near future. It has been hovering between 130.55 and 130.70 per dollar since March 3, Thomson Reuters data showed. There has been a gradual increase since mid-March in remittances by Sri Lankan expatriates to their relatives, while dollar selling has also increased as exporters paid bonuses to their employees. Those inflows have helped ease depreciation pressure, which was seen in the early part of the year.

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