The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) sold $ 223.3 million in the domestic foreign exchange market during the month of May. After purchasing $12 million during the same period, the net amount of dollars sold by the Central Bank for the month totalled $ 211.3 million. This marks the largest monthly dollar sale conducted by the CBSL since 2024.

The amount sold in May 2026 alone exceeded the total dollar sales for the entire year of 2025 ($ 205.3 million) and the total for 2024 ($ 183 million). During the previous two years, the Central Bank was a major net purchaser of foreign currency, buying $ 2,812 million in 2025 and $ 3,028.78 million in 2024.

In January 2026, the Bank sold only $ 9.50 million, and in February, it performed no dollar sales. However, the landscape shifted in late February as the impact of the Middle East crisis began to exert downward pressure on the Sri Lankan Rupee. To manage this exchange rate pressure, the CBSL was forced to begin selling dollars back into the market.

For the first five months of 2026, the Central Bank's cumulative actions are as follows: total dollars purchased were $ 886.10 million, total dollars sold was $ 400.20 million, and net purchases were $ 485.90 million.

Furthermore, the Central Bank reported that the year-to-date depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against the US dollar reached 7.8% as of 5 June 2026.