නිදහස් හා විවෘත ප්රවේශය
රාජ්ය මූල්ය දත්ත හා විශ්ලේෂණයන් සඳහා
In March 2024, Sri Lanka's Gross official reserves (GOR) experienced a notable uptick, reaching US$5.0 billion, marking a positive shift after several years. This increase was fueled primarily by substantial net purchases of foreign exchange from the domestic foreign exchange market by the Central Bank. Net intervention for March 2024 amounted to US$715 million, with first-quarter net purchases totaling US$1.2 billion. Import coverage of GOR, inclusive of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) swap facility, remained above 3 months of imports since December 2023. The Sri Lanka rupee showed signs of appreciation against the US dollar, appreciating by 9.1% up to April 30, 2024. Furthermore, against other major currencies like the euro, pound sterling, Japanese yen, Indian rupee, and Australian dollar, the Sri Lanka rupee also demonstrated appreciating trends, albeit amidst some volatility.
Meanwhile, the deficit in Sri Lanka's merchandise trade account narrowed in March 2024 to US$369 million from US$412 million in March 2023, primarily attributed to a more significant increase in exports compared to imports. However, the deficit widened in comparison to February 2024, reaching US$319 million. Cumulatively, the trade account deficit for January to March 2024 stood at US$1,229 million, surpassing the deficit recorded during the same period in 2023 (US$896 million). Earnings from merchandise exports surged by 9.8% to US$1,139 million in March 2024 compared to US$1,037 million in March 2023, reflecting increases across all major export categories, notably industrial exports. Conversely, expenditure on merchandise imports rose by 4.0% to US$1,508 million in March 2024, up from US$1,450 million in March 2023, with all major import categories witnessing increases, particularly intermediate goods led by fuel imports.
