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Workshop on Sustainable Finance

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, jointly with the Sustainable Banking Network (SBN) managed by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has made arrangements to conduct a Workshop on “Sustainable Finance” on 28 February 2017 at the John Exter International Conference Hall of the Central Bank, Colombo with the patronage of His Excellency the President Maithripala Sirisena as the Chief Guest and the Keynote Speaker.

Inflation in January 2017

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, increased to 6.5 per cent in January 2017 from 4.2 per cent in December 2016, on year-on-year basis. Both Food and Non-food categories contributed towards the year-on-year inflation in January 2017. 

The change in the NCPI measured on an annual average basis increased to 4.6 per cent in January 2017 from 4.0 per cent in December 2016.

Launching of the Data Library of Central Bank of Sri Lanka

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) today launched a Data Library to the general public via the CBSL external website.

Data Library of CBSL is a comprehensive database consisting of time series data on a variety of topics spanning across Real, Monetary, Fiscal, External and Financial sectors. It facilitates numerous data requirements by enabling the creation of own queries, generating tables, downloading and saving them for further reference.

The data users can access the Data Library via the CBSL website (www.cbsl.gov.lk) or specifically via the URL (https://www.cbsl.lk/eresearch).

 

SL Purchasing Managers’ Index Survey - January 2017

The Manufacturing Sector PMI recorded an index value of 56.2 in January which is a decrease of 2.1 index points compared to December 2016. The deceleration in PMI indicate that the manufacturing activities expanded at a moderate pace in January 2017 largely attributable to post seasonal realignment of business plans ahead as reflected in Production and New Orders sub-indices. The Stock of Purchases sub-index increased in January indicating an accumulation of stocks mainly as a precaution to face possible delays of supply of materials which is also associated with the lengthening of Suppliers’ Delivery Time. The Employment sub-index also increased compared to the previous month. Overall data points to an expansion where all the sub-indices are above the neutral 50.0 threshold. The expectations for activities indicated an improvement for the next three months.

Monetary Policy Review: No. 1 – 2017

Contributed by both food and non-food inflation, headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI, 2013=100), increased to 5.5 per cent in January 2017 from 4.5 per cent in December 2016. Core inflation, based on CCPI, also accelerated to 7.0 per cent in January 2017 from 5.8 per cent in December 2016. Headline inflation and core inflation, based on the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI, 2013=100), which is available with a time lag, also reflected an upward trend in December 2016, recording 4.2 per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively, on a year-on-year basis. In spite of the increase in inflation in recent times, which is mainly attributed to the impact of tax adjustments and the adverse weather conditions, inflation is projected to remain in mid-single digit levels, on average during the year supported by appropriate supply side and demand management policies.

External Sector Performance – October 2016

Sri Lanka’s external sector recorded a modest performance in October 2016 with a deterioration in the trade deficit amidst continued growth in tourist earnings. The trade deficit widened in October as a result of higher import expenditure despite a marginal growth in export earnings. The significant increase in import expenditure in October 2016 was primarily due to the import of a dredger vessel for the Port City construction project. Meanwhile, workers’ remittances were marginally higher while a healthy growth was observed in earnings from tourism during October 2016. Although inflows to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and long term loan proceeds to the government supported the financial account of the Balance of Payments (BOP), the government securities market witnessed a net outflow during October 2016.

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