Workers’ remittances amounted to USD 482 million in September 2023, in comparison to US dollars 359 million in September 2022 and USD 499 million in August 2023.
Meanwhile, based on the provisional data, total departures for foreign employment in September 2023 and during January to September 2023 amounted to 25,648 and 222,794, respectively, in comparison to the total departures of 311,056 recorded in 2022.
Gross official reserves stood at USD 3.5 billion by end September 2023. This included the swap facility from the People’s Bank of China equivalent to around US dollars 1.3 billion which is subject to conditionalities on usability. The Central Bank absorbed USD 83 million from the domestic foreign exchange market on a net basis during the month. Overall, the Central Bank has purchased around US dollars 1.6 billion, on net basis, during January to September 2023.
During the year up to October 31, 2023, the Sri Lanka rupee remained appreciated by 10.9% t against the US dollar. Meanwhile, reflecting the cross-currency movements, the Sri Lanka rupee appreciated against the euro, the pound sterling, the Japanese yen, the Indian rupee and the Australian dollar during the year up to October 31, 2023.
Meanwhile, the Merchandise trade deficit widened in September 2023 due to the combined impact of relatively low export earnings and high import expenditure, compared to September 2022. Meanwhile, the cumulative deficit in the trade account during January to September 2023 narrowed to US dollars 3,342 million from US dollars 4,093 million recorded over the same period in 2022.
Earnings from merchandise exports declined by 10% to US dollars 972 million in September 2023, over the corresponding month in 2022 as well as compared to US dollars 1,119 million recorded in August 2023. Meanwhile expenditure on the importation of consumer goods increased in September 2023, compared to a year ago, due to the increase in expenditure on non-food consumer goods although food and beverages imports recorded a decline. In contrast, expenditure on food and beverages declined due to the lower import volumes of cereals and milling industry products (mainly, rice) in September 2023.
Expenditure on the importation of intermediate goods increased marginally in September 2023, compared to a year ago, mainly driven by the higher import volumes of wheat, fuel, fertiliser (mainly, urea), and base metals (mainly, Iron and steel). Despite non-importation of crude oil in September 2023, expenditure on fuel increased compared to September 2022, with higher imports of refined petroleum and the resumption of coal imports.
Import expenditure on investment goods increased in September 2023, compared to September 2022, led by the increase in imports of machinery and equipment.
