Earnings from exports exceeded US dollars 1.0 billion for the tenth consecutive month in March 2022, despite a marginal decline compared to year earlier. Meanwhile, import expenditure recorded a notable decline, year-on-year, for the first time since February 2021. As a result, the trade deficit declined in March 2022 on year-on-year basis. Tourist arrivals and workers’ remittances showed a notable improvement in March 2022, compared to the previous month. Foreign investment in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded a net inflow during March 2022. The Central Bank started publishing a middle rate and variation margin of the interbank weighted average spot exchange rate beginning 13 May 2022 in view of curtailing any large volatility in the intraday exchange rate in the domestic foreign exchange market.
Sunday, May 15, 2022