In February 2019, the deficit in the trade account narrowed further to US dollars 451million, recording the lowest monthly trade deficit in more than 5 years.

The considerable reduction in the trade deficit was due to the notable decline in import expenditure by 27.6 per cent (year-on-year) and increased earnings from exports by 7.2 per cent (year-on-year) in February 2019.

Earnings from tourism continued its robust performance, registering over 240,000 tourist arrivals per month since December 2018 and recording a growth of 7.0 per cent (year-on-year) in February 2019,

Workers’ remittances declined by 12.4 per cent (year-on-year) in February 2019, to US dollars 500 million.

Positive developments were observed in the financial account with net inflows of foreign investments to the government securities market in February 2019, although some net outflows were observed from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).