Sri Lanka c.bank does not change rates.Previous measures say it will ease prices

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Colombo-Sri Lanka’s central bank stabilized key lending rates on Thursday after receiving a significant 700 basis point hike at its last meeting, requiring further financial and political stability in the crisis-stricken economy Repeated sex.

The permanent loan facility rate was flat at 14.50%, but the permanent deposit facility rate was stable at 13.50%.

“Recent monetary tightening and strengthening of monetary policy communication are expected to help fix public inflation expectations in the future,” the bank said in a statement. sites / default / files / cbslweb_documents / press / pr / press_20220519_Monetary_Policy_Review_No_4_2022_e.pdf.

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Central banks said economic growth also recorded a recession, while inflation would continue to rise in the short term due to supply pressure.

A tax cut by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has depleted the government’s financial resources, COVID-19 has hit the lucrative tourism industry, and rising oil prices have emptied foreign exchange reserves, leaving 22 million people in a catastrophic economic crisis. I’m fighting.

Foreign exchange reserves have plummeted to almost zero, and Colombo is struggling to pay for essentials such as fuel, medicine and food.

“The central bank believes that the policy changes made at the last meeting are gradually beginning to pay off. Market interest rates have also been adjusted,” said Udeshan Jonas, chief strategist of the Capital Alliance Group. ..

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“They will overlook inflation figures in the short term, as they are entirely related to the supply side,” he added.

Inflation reached 29.8% in April, and food prices in the island nation rose 46.6% year-on-year.

The central bank’s policy measures need to be strengthened by appropriate and timely policy coordination by the government, the bank said.

“Urgent measures are needed to restore greater political stability through consensus governance and social harmony,” he wrote.

Central bank governor P. Nandalal Weerashinge told reporters earlier this month that without a political solution to the current crisis, banking measures to revive the economy would not be successful and within two weeks. He said he would resign unless it was stable. (Report by Swati Bhat and Uditha Jayasinghe, edited by Christopher Cushing and Raju Gopalakrishnan)