Sri Lanka’s inflation dips as IMF bailout kicks in
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka's inflation eased to 35.3 per cent, the lowest in a year, the statistics office said Friday as the country pressed ahead with austerity measures under an IMF bailout.
Fuel and food prices coming off their record highs helped inflation moderate in April, the Department of Census and Statistics said.
April is the first full month since the International Monetary Fund released the first instalment of a $3 billion loan spread over four years.
The rate of price increases peaked at 69.8 per cent in September as Sri Lanka struggled to finance imports of essential goods after declaring a sovereign default on its $46 billion foreign debt in April last year.
April's inflation of 35.3 per cent is the lowest since the 29.8 per cent recorded a year earlier. President Ranil Wickremesinghe warned his 22 million people soon after the IMF bailout in late March that they may have to endure more hardships due to austerity measures.
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