Bank interest rates decline!

Central Bank Governor Indrajith Kumaraswamy said the Sri Lankan economy had grown by 3.2% in 2018. He noted that the main factors that contributed to this growth was the 4.7% expansion in the service sector and the 4.8% growth in the agricultural sector.

The Monetary Board of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank at its meeting held on April 08th decided to maintain policy interest rates at their current levels.

Accordingly, the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank will remain at 8.00 percent and 9.00 percent, respectively.

The Board arrived at this decision following a careful analysis of current and expected developments in the domestic economy, the financial market as well as the developments in the global economy, with the broad aim of stabilising inflation at mid-single-digit levels in the medium term to enable the economy to reach its potential, Kumaraswamy noted.

As the government has successfully laid the foundation to overcome the challenges, the rupee has appreciated by 4.5% against the US Dollar.

Further as the export income had increased and the import income had been limited, it had led to the strengthening of the rupee.