March 02, 2023, Colombo: State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya credits economic decisions by the Government of Sri Lanka to strengthen the Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR).
According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), the LKR reached a record high against the US Dollar today, March 2, with a buying rate of Rs. 343.97 and a selling rate of Rs. 356.74. This is the strongest the rupee has been against the US Dollar since the month of May last year.
Siyambalapitiya highlighted that the country’s political situation has become more stable due to these measures. Furthermore, he emphasized that the growth of foreign reserves from $1.7 billion in September 2022 to $2.1 billion by the first week of February 2023, representing a 23.5% increase or $400 million, demonstrates the success of these decisions.
Additionally, he noted that food inflation had decreased from 94.9% in September 2022 to 60.1% by January 2023. Moreover, tourist arrivals had grown by 261%, from 29,802 in September 2022 to 107,639 in February 2023. The Minister attributed these favourable developments to the government’s sound economic policy decisions.
