Category: Economy
Advocata Institute launches tool to track everyday food price changes
Advocata’s latest policy product tracks the average retail prices of a basket of goods and provides an indication of how much prices have changed over time. With the use of such tools, anyone including policymakers and politicians alike has access to track price fluctuations. This could enable anyone to see if policies have direct or […]
‘s gross official reserves estimated at USD 4.1bn at end March 2021
Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves were estimated at US dollars 4.1 billion (excluding the swap facility with the PBOC), with an import cover of 3 months, at the end-March 2021, the Central Bank said. Recently, the Central Bank entered into a bilateral currency swap arrangement with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) amounting to CNY […]
‘Bath Curry Indicator’ by Advocata Institute will be launched tomorrow
Food inflation has risen over the last year, although the overall inflation is low. According to the National Consumer Price Index, overall prices rose by 3.7% between January 2020 and January 2021, but food inflation rose by 5.9%. While this is a matter of concern to the public, items like turmeric and green gram, which […]
Validity period to open Special Deposit Accounts extended; USD 360mn deposited so far
The Cabinet has approved a proposal tabled by the Prime Minister as the Minister of Finance to extend the validity period and to issue orders in accordance with the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Act to encourage the parties who wish to deposit money in Special Deposit Accounts. The validity period for openings of the […]
Material Sector – The Scavengers of Recovery
Softlogic Research, in its most recent publication, took a very strong stance on the Material sector, predicting a strong growth backed by economic recovery and the renewable energy drive. Digging deeper into the trickle-down effects of core economic policies such as protectionism and economic stimulus, the publication deals with the potential benefits of such policies […]
Govt has no intention to tarnish its unblemished debt service record, CBSL clarifies reports
The Government has no intention to tarnish its unblemished debt service record by delaying the settlement of maturing debt obligations, the Central Bank clarified. The clarification came after a newspaper today publishing a report of a planned delay in settlement of dues on SLDBs and foreign currency loans obtained by the Government from domestic banks. […]
Colombo Consumer Price inflation increased to 4.1-pct in March with low base effect
Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index increased to 4.1 percent in March 2021 from 3.3 percent in February 2021. This was due to the statistical effect of the low base prevailed in March 2020, the Statistics Department said. Meanwhile, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 9.6 percent […]
South Asian economies bounce back but face fragile recovery: World Bank
Prospects of an economic rebound in South Asia are firming up as growth is set to increase by 7.2 percent in 2021 and 4.4 percent in 2022, climbing from historic lows in 2020 and putting the region on a path to recovery. But growth is uneven and economic activity well below pre-COVID-19 estimates, as many […]
Vietnam to support investment and trade promotion in Sri Lanka
The newly appointed Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ho Thi Thanh Truc to Sri Lanka presented her credentials to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Palace yesterday (30). President Rajapaksa and the new Vietnamese Ambassador thereafter exchanged views on the current status of bilateral relations and the development of future cooperation between the […]
Governors and District Sec are responsible for regional development process: President
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa emphasizes that the Governors and District Secretaries should take the lead in the regional development process. It is the objective of the Government to see that the people from the villages reap the benefits of development expeditiously. He says that this process could not be delayed under any circumstance and that the […]
Sri Lankan economy is steadily progressing as displayed in latest economic indicators: CBSL
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank says that the economy is steadily progressing as displayed in the latest economic indicators even though the second wave of COVID 19 posed a setback. Releasing a slideshow with the latest economic indicators, the Bank said that enhanced foreign exchange earnings and increased investment inflows are expected to assist Sri Lanka […]
Sri Lanka’s export earnings grew by 2.5-pct in February
Sri Lanka’s export earnings registered a growth of 2.52% with US$ 993.73 Mn in February, compared to the previous year, maintaining the growth momentum recorded during the last five months as per the provisional statistics released by Sri Lanka Customs. This is the highest export figure recorded for the month of February during the last […]