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Usable reserves at merely $ 250 mn

08 Jul 2022

  • Total reserves at $ 1.9 bn, includes idling $ 1.5 bn Yuan swap
Sri Lanka’s usable reserves have dwindled to $ 250 million, stated the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) during the press briefing for the Monetary Policy Review No. 5 of 2022, which was held yesterday (7). The CBSL stated that gross official reserves, as at end-June 2022, are estimated at $ 1.9 billion, including the swap facility from the People’s Bank of China equivalent to around $ 1.5 billion, which is subject to conditionalities on its usability. These conditions, which were established on the provision of the swap in December 2021, state that Sri Lanka must have sufficient foreign reserves to cover imports for several months, a threshold that was not met even in December, before reserves began dwindling rapidly. Thus, out of the approximately $ 400 million left in reserves, only a sum of $ 250 million can be used. Sri Lanka was able to maintain its official reserve assets at $ 1,827 million as at the end of April of this year. However, its foreign currency reserves were at $ 1,618 million.  In March, the reserves assets stood at $ 1,917 million.   


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