Sri Lanka’s Central Bank records an increase in official reserves
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka data has reportedly shown that the country’s gross official reserves have improved to US$ 7,489.98 million by end October from US$ 7,288.12 million in September.
Foreign currency reserves were US$ 6,506.66 million and reserves in gold were US$ 912.74 million by end October 2017.
According to reports, the reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was US$ 67.22 million.
Central Bank’s Treasury bill holdings were reportedly down from Rs. 57,109.72 million by end September to Rs. 42,561.04 million by end October.
The Central Bank has been quoted as stating that its cumulative purchases of foreign exchange from the domestic market exceeded US$ 1.2 billion on a net basis.
“With increased flexibility in the determination of the exchange rate, the pressure in the domestic foreign exchange market has eased considerably,” the Central Bank has said.
“This has limited the cumulative depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar to 2.5 percent in the first 10 months of the year, in comparison to the depreciation of 3.8 percent observed during the year 2016.”
OSL take:
The Central Bank data indicating an improvement in Sri Lanka’s official reserves is an indication of the economic growth. A continuation in economic growth could result in a further increase in business opportunities in the country.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/16112017/Z_3 |