Sri Lanka’s official reserve assets were 1.6 billion US dollars (USD 1,587.0mn) by the end of November, down from 2.3 billion US dollars in October, the latest Central Bank data showed.

Sri Lanka’s central bank will pay an extra premium of 10 rupees for US dollar converted into rupees by expatriated workers during the month of December, up from an existing 2 rupees.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced its new USD 19 Mn, five-year Sri Lanka Energy Programme (SLEP) on 17 November, the US Embassy in Sri Lanka said recently.

Sri Lanka’s inflation accelerated to 9.9 percent in the 12-months to November from 7.6 percent in October, in the wake of record money printing for over two years, while policy in reserve currency central banks also deteriorated.