The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will lend Sri Lanka about $ 216.6 million following the completion of a review of the country’s economy.
On February 2, the IMF completed the fifth review of Sri Lanka's economic performance under a programme supported by a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The completion of the review enables the immediate disbursement of the loan bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to $1.516 billion.
“The Sri Lankan authorities have made good progress under the Fund-supported programme and macroeconomic developments continue to be favourable. Growth is strengthening; inflation remains in check, despite some pressure in food and energy prices; and imports have recovered. With strong remittance inflows, gross reserves remain at comfortable levels,” said Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair.
On February 1, the Sri Lankan Central Bank said that inflation decreased to 6.8 per cent in January 2011, on a year-on-year basis, from 6.9 per cent in December 2010. Meanwhile, the annual average inflation increased to 6 per cent in January from 5.9 per cent in the previous month, as a result of the price developments in the preceding twelve month period. The core inflation, which measures the price movement of non-food and non-energy items of the CCPI basket, decreased to 3.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis and 6.0 per cent on an annual average basis in January 2011 from that of 5.6 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively, in December 2010.
