COLOMBO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee ended little changed against the dollar on Tuesday as inward remittances and sales of the greenback by exporters offset demand from importers, dealers said.

They expect the local currency to remain steady for the rest of the year after central bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said recently the banking regulator would intervene in the thinly-traded market whenever needed to keep the rupee stable. ID:nL4N0QR3VB

The rupee LKR=LK closed unchanged at 130.20/21 per dollar.

"The rupee ended steady in quiet trade as there was not much of imports and there were normal inward remittances and exporter dollar sales," said a currency dealer.

Foreign investors bought a net 250 million rupees ($1.9 million) worth of government securities in the week ended Aug. 27, official data showed.

Dealers said they are awaiting the results of National Savings Bank's dollar bond sale.

The bank is offering five-year U.S. dollar 144A/Reg S bonds at an initial guidance to yield of around 5.5 percent. The issue size is capped at $250 million. ID:nIFRbfCNPY

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) ((ranga.sirilal@thomsonreuters.com; +94-11-232-5540; Reuters Messaging: ranga.sirilal.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; www.twitter.com/rangaba ))

Keywords: MARKETS SRI LANKA/FOREX