Sri Lanka's inflation at -0.2% in September
The change was largely driven by a slowing in food inflation to 0.5% in September from 2.3% in August
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SRI Lanka’s consumer price inflation eased to minus 0.2 per cent year-on-year in September from an increase of 1.1 per cent in August, official data showed on Monday (Oct 21), as the crisis-hit island nation’s economic rebound continued.
The National Consumer Price Index captures broad retail price inflation and is released with a lag of 21 days every month. The change was largely driven by a slowing in food inflation to 0.5 per cent in September from 2.3 per cent in August, the Department of Census and Statistics said.
Non-food price inflation dropped to minus 0.7 per cent in September from 0.2 per cent the previous month.
Reductions in power tariffs and fuel prices as well as an appreciating rupee have helped reduce inflation to the lowest point in nine years, analysts said.
“We are likely to see inflation close the year at about 1 per cent before picking up gradually from the beginning of next year,” said Shehan Cooray, head of research at Acuity Stockbrokers.
Sri Lanka suffered record inflation after its worst financial crisis in decades pummelled the economy, which has stabilised since it secured a US$2.9-billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in March 2023.
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The World Bank doubled its forecast for Sri Lanka’s 2024 growth to 4.4 per cent earlier this month. REUTERS
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