Sri Lanka reserves at USD7.0Bn

Jan 29, 2019 (LBO) - Sri Lanka Governments's gross official reserves stood at US dollars 7.0 billion which was equivalent to 3.7 months of imports at end November 2018, data shows. Total foreign assets, which consist of gross official reserves and foreign assets of the banking sector, amounted to US dollars 9.7 billion as at end November 2018, equivalent to 5.2 months of imports, the Central Bank said in a new report. Earnings from tourism rebounded strongly with the start of the tourism season registering a growth of 18.2 per cent in November (year-on-year). Tourism sector is expected to continue its robust performance through 2019. Workers’ remittances fell by 5.7 per cent, year-on-year, in November 2018 registering a decline of 0.9 per cent on a cumulative basis. On a cumulative basis, workers’ remittances declined by 0.9 per cent to US dollars 6,431 million during the first eleven months of 2018 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2017. Foreign investments in the government securities market and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded outflows during November 2018 exerting pressure on the domestic foreign exchange market, which necessitated intervention by the Central Bank to curb excessive volatility in the exchange rate.