INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the government has decided to maintain the inflation rate of around 5% in the future, in accordance
with the new CBSL Act, Governor Dr
Nandalal Weerasinghe said today.He mentioned this while addressing a special press briefing on the first monetary policy review by the
Monetary Policy Board today (Oct
that this trend, obviously we can expect that trend to turnaround and settle over a period of time around our target range between 4-6%,
Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 100 basis points (bps) to 10.00%
and 11.00%, respectively.The decision to slash the SDFR and the SLFR was reached following a careful analysis of the current and expected
developments, including low inflation and benign inflation expectations in the domestic economy, with the aim of stabilizing inflation at
the envisaged 5% level in the medium term, thereby enabling the economy to reach its potential growth.Meanwhile, the level of gross official
reserves of the country has been estimated at around USD 3.5 billion as of the end of September 2023.However, this includes the swap
a significant decrease in merchandise imports due to lower demand and import restrictions, and a relatively low decline in merchandise
