Inflation, as measured by the change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) (2013=100), which is compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), decreased to 8.4 per cent in November 2017 from 8.8 per cent in October 2017, on year-on-year basis.
The change in the NCPI measured on an annual average basis increased from 7.1 per cent in October 2017 to 7.5 per cent in November 2017.
The Manufacturing Sector PMI recorded 58.8 in November which is an increase of 4.0 index points compared to October 2017. This indicates that the Manufacturing activities expanded at a higher pace in November compared to October 2017. This was mainly driven by the New Orders and Production sub-indices owing to the increase in manufacturing of food, beverages and tobacco related activities in line with the seasonal demand. Further, Employment and Stock of Purchases sub-indices also expanded at a higher pace during the month compared to October 2017. Meanwhile, the Suppliers’ Delivery Time sub-index lengthened, albeit at a slower rate, compared to previous month. Overall, all the sub-indices of PMI recorded values above the neutral 50.0 threshold signalling an overall expansion in November 2017.
In terms of the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sri Lanka Police on December 13, 2017 at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to share information/intelligence in order to facilitate investigations and prosecutions on money laundering, terrorist financing and other related offences.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has drawn attention of the general public for implementation of its Clean Note Policy and regulation on the willfully mutilation, alteration or defacement of Sri Lanka currency notes. The Clean Note Policy has been introduced by CBSL aiming at maintaining the quality standards of the currency notes and thereby helping to distinguish between genuine notes and counterfeits. It is also expected through this policy to enhance image of the country and promote the efficiency of processing currency notes.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka hosted the 24th SAARCFINANCE Coordinators’ Meeting at the Central Bank premises, Colombo, on 1st September 2016. The 24th SAARCFINANCE Coordinators’ Meeting was attended by SAARCFINANCE Coordinators and Focal Points from the Central Banks and Ministries of Finance in the SAARC region.
The broad objective of SAARCFINANCE is to promote cooperation among Central Banks and Ministries of Finance in SAARC Member States to forge closer cooperation on macroeconomic policies of Member States and to share experiences and expertise within the region.
Sri Lanka’s external sector performance remained moderate in June 2016 with a widening trade deficit and relatively low growth in workers’ remittances and tourist earnings. The trade deficit which showed gradual improvements in the first four months of the year deteriorated in May and June with weak performance in both exports and imports. Earnings from tourism recorded a low growth in June compared to previous months of the year while growth in workers’ remittances also moderated. However, inflows to the financial account elevated with the receipts of the first tranche of the IMF Extended Fund Facility (IMF-EFF) and a syndicated loan facility. As a result of these inflows to the financial account and developments in the global economy with further rate hikes by the United States Federal Reserve still to materialise, foreign investments in the government securities market rebounded.
The 10th International Research Conference of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was held on 08 December 2017 at the John Exter International Conference Hall of the Central Bank. The conference was organised under the theme of “Macroeconomic Policy Reforms towards a Vibrant Future” with the aim of encouraging innovative theoretical and empirical research on current macroeconomic policy issues, while providing a platform for researchers from policy making and academic institutions to share their experiences and views from diverse perspectives.
As in the past, the 10th International Research Conference attracted eminent researchers from renowned universities, research institutions and central banks around the world.
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the third review of the three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) obtained by Sri Lanka, enabling the disbursement of the fourth tranche to the value of SDR 177.774 million (approximately US dollars 251.4 million).
The Central Bank has observed certain erroneous news items published in few newspapers raising concerns over financial problems confronted by a few licensed finance companies. Therefore, the Central Bank wishes to clarify facts behind the inaccuracy of such news in the public interest.
The Manufacturing Sector PMI increased to 53.5 in August which is an increase of 2.9 index points from 50.6 in July 2016. The increase in August was fuelled by the improvements observed in New Orders, Employment and Production Indices. All the sub-indices of manufacturing sector PMI, apart from stock of purchases which was unchanged, increased compared to the previous month. Notably, New Orders, Employment and Suppliers’ Delivery Time indices recovered from the contraction observed in July. Overall data points to an expansion where all the sub-indices are above the neutral 50.0 threshold. The expectations for activities indicate an improvement for the next three months.
