• August bill jumps 76.5% to $450.6m

Sri Lanka’s fuel import bill has surged by 61.6% to $4.07 billion in the first eight months of this year, increasing the country’s import expenditure on fuel by $1.55 billion compared to the same period last year, according to Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) data.

The sharp increase comes despite the Government’s continued efforts to manage fuel consumption and expenditure, with the latest figures showing that the pressure on the country’s import bill has intensified rather than eased as the year progressed.

Sri Lanka spent $2.52 billion on fuel imports between January and August 2025. The corresponding expenditure this year therefore represents an additional $1.55 billion outflow in just eight months.

The increase has also accelerated in recent months, with the August fuel import bill rising by 76.5% year-on-year to $450.6 million, compared to $255.2 million in August last year.

This amounts to an increase of $195.4 million in a single month.

The August figures show that refined petroleum products accounted for the largest share of the monthly fuel import expenditure. Sri Lanka spent $321.9 million on refined petroleum imports during the month, up 58.7% from the $202.9 million recorded in August 2025.

The increase of $119 million in refined petroleum expenditure alone highlights the scale of the additional foreign exchange being spent on fuel imports.

The latest figures are significant for an economy that remains heavily dependent on imported fuel to meet domestic energy and transport requirements. Higher fuel import expenditure directly adds to the country’s overall import bill and increases the foreign exchange requirement for maintaining fuel supplies.

The sharp year-on-year increase in August also indicates that the rise in fuel expenditure has not been limited to the cumulative increase recorded during the first half of the year.

With the January-August fuel bill already exceeding $4 billion, the country has spent an average of more than $500 million a month on fuel imports during the first eight months of 2026.

The latest CBSL data therefore point to fuel remaining one of the major components of Sri Lanka’s import expenditure, with the widening year-on-year gap placing further pressure on the country’s foreign exchange outflows.