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Snapshot of the Economy

Here’s a quick look at how key economic variables have performed during the year so far

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The key to understanding their performance:

Improving

Managable

Worsening

Gross Official Reserves: Strengthened by US$ 2bn during the year helped by sovereign bond issuances.


Trade deficit: fell considerably during the first 5 months of 2019, with negative import growth


Foreign holdings: Net foreign outflows continued in 2019, but at a slower pace compared to 2018.


Global situation: Slightly positive for EMs and FMs, given the expectation of a Fed rate cut in July, pared by  global trade tensions


USD/LKR: Appreciated and stabilized supported by low imports and a favourable global economic environment.


Credit to private sector: Showed a sharp cumulative decline of Rs. 15.3bn over the first 5 months


Inflation: Increased in 2019, following a moderate level recorded in the previous year. Core inflation showed a sharp increase recording a 5.8% rise in June

If you would like to look at the underlying numbers on each of these variables, click the button below

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