Lanka’s foreign Reserves increase to USD 6,462 Mn. end Nov.
Economic indicators show positive sentiments
Earnings from remittances up to USD 6 Bn.
With the stabilization of Sri Lanka’s Economy which is the key to take the country out of the abyss and the economy moving in the right direction in a focused manner, economic indicators too are showing positive sentiments.
Sri Lanka’s Official Reserve Assets as at end November 2024 further increased and stood at 6,462 USD million according to the Central Bank.
On-year-on-year basis, National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) (2021=100) based headline inflation remained in the negative territory for the third consecutive month, recording a deflation of 1.7% in November 2024 compared to the deflation of 0.7% in October2024. Prices of the items in the Food category, on a year-on-year basis, remained unchanged in November 2024.
Meanwhile, the Non-Food category recorded a deflation of 3.1 per cent in November 2024. Governor Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe earlier said that inflation towards mid 2025 would settle around the projected 4 to 5% range.
By December 27, 2024, the All Share Price Index (ASPI) increased by 4.89% to 15,535.60 points creating an all-time record and the S&P SL 20 Index increased by 5.56% to 4,666.65 points, compared to the index values of the last week.
During the period from January to October 2024, overall budget deficit decreased to Rs. 1,060.7 billion compared to Rs. 1,547.0 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2023. During the year up to December 27, 2024, the Sri Lanka rupee appreciated against the US dollar by 10.1%.
The earnings from worker remittances which was at USD 5,399.8 billion in November also saw a 10.1% increase as and with monthly revenue averaging around USD 530.1 million is expected to end the year passing the USD 6 billion mark. Sri Lanka’s total exports for November 2024, including both merchandise and services, were recorded at USD 1,269.33 million, reflecting a marginal increase of 0.04% compared to the same period in 2023.
Services exports for the month of November 2024 were estimated at USD 326.23 million, reflecting a 20.89 % increase over the corresponding period of 2023. However, the merchandise export performance in November 2024 amounted to US$ 943.1 million, reflecting a 5.6% decline compared to November 2023. While Sri Lanka passed the 2 million tourism arrival mark the country also touched the USD 3 billion revenue mark from the industry.
Total revenue from tourism till end November stood at USD 2,806.5 million and with the country averaging around USD 270 million plus each month the total tourism earnings will surpass the USD 3 billion mark. In 2023 January to November revenue stood at USD 1,798.7 million indicating a 56% increase. With the country averaging over 10,000 daily arrivals per day Sri Lanka is expected to have over 2.1 million arrivals for 2024.
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