- During the year up to 28th April 2023, the Sri Lankan rupee appreciated against the US dollar by 12.9 per cent. Given the cross currency exchange rate movements, the Sri Lankan rupee appreciated against the Japanese yen by 14.2 per cent, the pound sterling by 8.8 per cent, the Euro by 9.1 per cent and the Indian rupee by 11.4 per cent during this period.
- The gross official reserves were provisionally estimated at US dollars 2,694 mn as at end March 2023 including the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) swap equivalent to around US dollars 1.4 bn, which is subject to conditionalities on usability
- Earnings from exports declined by 7.9 per cent (year-on-year) to US dollars 2,998 mn during the first three months ending March 2023 as a result of decreased earnings mainly from exports of textiles and garments (-13.8%), petroleum products (-27.5%), coconut (-27.7%), rubber products (-7.5%) and food beverages and tobacco (-10.0%). Import expenditure also declined significantly by 31.7 per cent (year-on-year) to US dollars 3,859 mn during the first three months ending March 2023, mainly due to lower imports of fuel (-23.8%), machinery and equipment (-42.0%), textiles and textile articles (-31.3%), and building material (-51.6%). Accordingly, the deficit in the trade account narrowed significantly to US dollars 861 mn during the first three months ending March 2023 from US dollars 2,397 mn in the corresponding period of 2022
- The export unit value index decreased by 1.0 per cent, (year-on-year), in March 2023, due to lower prices registered in industrial exports category. The import unit value index in March 2023 increased by 5.6 per cent, (year-on-year) due to higher prices registered in consumer and intermediate import categories. Accordingly, the terms of trade declined by 6.2 per cent, (year-on-year), to 81.8 index points in March 2023.
- The average price of tea (in the Colombo auction) increased to US dollars 3.85 per kg in March 2023 from US dollars 3.36 per kg in March 2022.