Sri Lanka’s external sector strengthened with significant inflows to the financial account of the balance of payments (BOP) with proceeds from the 11th international sovereign bond (ISB) issuance and a syndicated loan facility in May 2017. These inflows resulted in an increase in gross official reserves from US dollars 5.0 billion as at end April 2017 to US dollars 6.8 billion as at end May 2017. Investor confidence in the Sri Lankan economy continued to be buoyant with continuous inflows to the government securities market and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). However, the current account of the BOP demonstrated a mixed performance during May with a widening of the trade deficit and a moderation in earnings from tourism and workers’ remittances. Despite exports increasing for the third consecutive month, the higher increase in import expenditure resulted in a further expansion of the trade deficit. Overall, continuous inflows to the financial account with positive investor sentiments and a gradual rebalancing of the current account is expected to positively impact Sri Lanka’s external sector during the second half of 2017.

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