The external current account recorded a surplus in February 2026, extending the trend observed since November 2025, and recorded a cumulative surplus of US$ 487 million during January–February 2026.
The merchandise trade deficit widened on a year-on-year basis in February 2026. Further, during January-February 2026, the trade deficit widened to US$ 1.4 billion compared to US$ 1.1 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Vehicle imports, including both personal and commercial vehicles, amounted to US$ 194 million in February 2026, bringing cumulative vehicle imports to US$ 418 million during January-February 2026.
The terms of trade deteriorated on a year-on-year basis in February 2026, as the decline in export prices exceeded the decline in import prices. The terms of trade during January-February 2026 also deteriorated compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
The surplus in the services account declined by 16.7 per cent in February 2026 on a year-on-year basis, reflecting reduced inflows from major service categories including earnings from tourism, alongside the higher overseas travel related outflows.
Tourist arrivals in February 2026 increased on a month-on-month basis, while recording a growth of 16.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Tourist earnings1 were estimated at US$ 352 million in February 2026, and the cumulative earnings recorded a year-on-year decline of 4.9 per cent to US$ 730 million during January-February 2026 period.
Workers’ remittances2 in February 2026 sustained the positive momentum observed in recent months. Cumulatively, remittances during the first two months of the year recorded a growth of 32.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
Foreign investments in the government securities market recorded a net inflow of US$ 53 million, while foreign investments in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), including both primary and secondary market transactions, recorded a net outflow of US$ 30 million during the month of February 2026.
Gross official reserves (GOR), including the swap facility with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), increased to US$ 7.3 billion at end February 2026. This was mainly driven by higher foreign exchange purchases by the Central Bank, despite continued external debt service payments.
As of end March 2026, the year to date depreciation of the Sri Lanka rupee against the US dollar was 1.6 per cent, reflecting the emergence of external sector pressures following the onset of the Middle East conflict in late Feb 2026.