Sri Lanka's reserves decline : CBSL

COLOMBO (News1st): Sri Lanka's official reserves had reduced to 4.8 billion US dollars by the end of January 2021 down from USD 5.1 billion recorded the previous month, the central bank announced Friday. "Debt servicing is the key priority. We will maintain Sri Lanka's unblemished record (in debt repayments)," central bank governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman said during a media briefing. He said that Sri Lanka expects its economic growth to rise by at least six percent. "The inflation rate is estimated as three percent in January 2021 despite the present regime of import rationalization restricting unnecessary or inessential import," the governor noted. Prof. Lakshman said he expects the country's trade deficit to reduce this year.