|
Sri Lanka’s external sector performance improved in February along with the gradual recovery of the global economy. Earnings from exports grew by 20.0 per cent in February 2010 to US dollars 629 million led by higher earnings from agricultural and industrial exports, a Central Bank press release said yesterday. "The expenditure on imports also increased by 60.6 per cent to US dollars 973 million, due to the increased demand for imports within all the sub sectors," the Central Bank said.
The rise in export earnings was attributed to the increase in export volumes of tea and rubber which increased by 20.1 percent and 44.1 percent respectively.
According the Central Bank, tea prices increased by 25.7 per cent to US dollars 4.35 per kg while rubber prices increased to US dollars 2.86 per kg, reflecting a 95.4 per cent increase compared to February 2009.
During the first two months of 2010, foreign remittances increased by 13.0 per cent over the corresponding period of 2009 to US dollars 564 million.
By the end of February 2010 the Bank had reserves of USD 5.032 million, equivalent to 5.5 months of imports.
|
Contact Information:: Send
mail to