AMN/ WEB DESK
Sri Lanka’s key inflation rate nearly halved to 6.3% in July from 12% last month. The island nation’s statistics department released the numbers for Colombo district earlier today. This is the first instance where inflation has dropped to single digits in over a year since the crisis hit Indian Ocean island. Tight monetary and fiscal policy measures are being attributed to the attainment of Central Bank’s self-imposed target of 6%. In addition, in February this year, the government changed the base year of inflation in its calculation from 2013 to 2021.
Sri Lanka had faced runaway inflation of up to 70% recorded last year in September. With generous Indian assistance of 4 billion USD, the island managed to stay afloat while bringing about key policy changes to ease the inflation.
At the same time, Sri Lanka’s economy is expected to record a 2% contraction, according to government estimates, after shrinking 7.8% last year. However, encouraged by inflation easing faster than expected, the Central Bank cut policy rates by 450 basis points in June and July this year.
Meanwhile, the wider national consumer price inflation, had recorded a figure of 10.8% in June. Sri Lanka’s National Consumer price inflation follows CCPI Inflation with a lag of 21 days.