Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) – Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe has said that only around USD 200 million worth of Letters of Credit (LCs) have been opened so far for vehicle imports.
Speaking at the CBSL’s Monetary Policy briefing yesterday (March 26), the Governor announced the decisions of the Monetary Policy Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) made at the board’s meeting held March 25th for the second monetary policy review.
The Governor further said this year’s economic growth will depend on policies implemented within the year, mainly fiscal and structural policies.
He further mentioned that the Central Bank had anticipated managing around USD 1 billion for vehicle imports this year without difficulty.
However, as there are still about nine months remaining in the year, he stated that this amount is expected to be spent over that period.
Dr. Weerasinghe, who further clarified that the negative inflation is temporary, noted that it is mainly due to repeated reductions in electricity tariffs.
Deflationary conditions are expected to gradually ease in the third quarter of this year, moving toward the targeted level, he added.
