Sri Lanka’s external sector reflected a modest performance in the month of October 2015 with lower trade deficit, continued growth in tourist earnings and a moderate increase in workers’ remittances. Despite the slowdown in imports during the recent months, the cumulative trade deficit as at end October 2015 increased by 2.5 per cent mainly due to the subdued export performance as a result of depressed global demand. As at end October 2015, gross official reserves stood at US dollars 6.5 billion, and increased to US dollars 7.3 billion in November 2015 with the receipt of the proceeds of the 9th international sovereign bond issuance and other currency inflows.
