DILANJ

[Pragnaa By JB @pragnaabyjb]

Sri Lanka’s current account moved into a USD 142.0 Mn deficit in July 2026, reversing the USD 226.7 Mn surplus recorded in July 2025, as the widening merchandise trade deficit outweighed the support from primary and secondary income.

The merchandise trade deficit widened by 75.4% YoY, with imports rising 19.6% YoY while exports declined 5.3% YoY. Fuel remained the largest contributor to import growth, although the fuel import bill eased in July, providing some relief to external pressures. Meanwhile, vehicle imports accounted for 8.5% of total current account outflows, indicating that the recovery in import demand particularly for vehicles is becoming increasingly relevant to the external balance.

Importantly, the deterioration in the current account reflects growing pressure from the merchandise trade balance, alongside a weaker net contribution from services. While the primary income deficit narrowed and secondary income continued to provide a strong surplus, these improvements were not sufficient to offset the widening trade deficit. This highlights the increasing importance of how quickly import demand expands relative to export earnings in determining the near-term external position.

#PragnaaByJB #InsightsByPragnaa #SriLankaEconomy #CCPI #EconomicUpdate #InflationTrends #InvestmentInsights

[DILANJ @dilanj82]

@Wind_Desika හොඳ කොලිටි තේ වෙන්න ඕනෑ ඉතිං ☺️

[DILANJ @dilanj82]

@Gokerala_ people

[Pragnaa By JB @pragnaabyjb]

Sri Lanka External Report - July 2026

https://t.co/e8Ze4xeh3D

Key Takeaways -
⚪ In July 2026, the current account recorded a deficit of USD 142.0 million, compared with a surplus of USD 226.7 million in the corresponding month of 2025, bringing the cumulative current account balance to a deficit of USD 387.4 million during January–July 2026.

⚪ The merchandise trade deficit widened by 75.4% YoY in July, as imports increased by 19.6%, while exports declined by 5.3% YoY. Over January–July, merchandise imports increased by 25.8% YoY, compared with a more modest 4.4% increase in exports.

⚪ The net services surplus declined by 23.9% YoY in July, mainly reflecting weaker receipts from manufacturing and construction-related services.

⚪ The terms of trade deteriorated by 2.4% YoY in July 2026, as import volumes and prices increased at a faster pace than export volumes and prices.

⚪ Gross official reserves increased to USD 6.6 billion by end-July, supported by CBSL net foreign exchange purchases of USD 348.6 million during the month.

⚪ Despite the continued YTD depreciation, the LKR appreciated during August, with the YTD depreciation against the USD narrowing to 5.5% by end-August.

⚪ The financial account recorded net lending of USD 573.1 million in Q1 2026, with net acquisition of financial assets amounting to USD 604.3 million against net incurrence of liabilities of USD 31.2 million, compared with net borrowing of USD 349.1 million in Q4 2025.

#PragnaaByJB #InsightsByPragnaa #SriLankaEconomy #CCPI #EconomicUpdate #InflationTrends #InvestmentInsights

[Sanjiva Weerawarana @sanjiva]

This is fishy:

Cabinet approves Rs. 174 m consultancy contract for $ 30 m tourism development program
https://t.co/0hLhjp1C6O

Consultancy firm that won is "M/s Novel Interdisciplinary Consulting Enterprise Ltd." Hmm.

Seems their website is this: https://t.co/HuY4o0b4iT. Domain was registered in March 2025. Site doesn't load properly and ends up in an Arabic form (see images). I had to use Chrome devtools to make scrolling work. Then I see the attached projects. Gotta love what their clients say (see image). And the managing director has his job title spelt wrong (see image).

This appears to be the managing director: https://t.co/BqL9Mgt7TF who is apparently a procurement consultant for World Bank and/or ADB. According to the content from their site as summarized by Google, another director is "Sulaiman Nazamat Umar Mohamed Nizar is a Sri Lankan biotechnology professional and General Manager at Mike Biotech Asia Pvt Ltd since 2017. He holds a BSc (Hons) ..."

Hey @anuradisanayake @Dr_HariniA @BimalRathnayake there's something seriously off here.

@nimilamalee

[DILANJ @dilanj82]

@aestheticsguyy Sri lanka

[Pragnaa By JB @pragnaabyjb]

Cont'd

[Pragnaa By JB @pragnaabyjb]

Monthly Primary Surplus – May 2026

Cumulative Performance
Revenue increased by 30.7% YoY , supported by robust growth in tax collections.
The overall fiscal balance recorded a surplus of LKR 197.3 Bn, widening from the previous month.

The primary surplus strengthened further to LKR 1,131.1 Bn, reflecting continued fiscal consolidation.

Monthly Performance
Revenue expanded by 18.8% YoY, as strong growth in tax revenue more than offset the decline in non-tax revenue.
Expenditure increased by 5.1% YoY, reflecting higher recurrent spending alongside a decline in capital expenditure.

The fiscal balance recorded a surplus of LKR 92.3 Bn, as revenue grew at a faster pace than expenditure on a MoM basis.

#PragnaaByJB #InsightsByPragnaa #SriLankaEconomy #InvestmentInsights

[DILANJ @dilanj82]

@Jamz5251 keep reporting the truth. . people needs to know the truth not government propaganda

[Pragnaa By JB @pragnaabyjb]

Contd.

[Pragnaa By JB @pragnaabyjb]

Sri Lanka Inflation – June 2026

Inflationary pressures strengthened further in June.

⚪ Headline Inflation: +6.8% YoY
⚪ Non-Food Inflation: +8.4% YoY
-Housing & Utilities: +6.3%
-Transport: +18.7%

⚪ Food Inflation: +3.6% YoY

Sector Highlights

⚪ YoY: Headline inflation accelerated further, driven primarily by stronger non-food price pressures, while food inflation also increased.
⚪ MoM: Both food and non-food prices rose compared to the previous month, contributing to the increase in overall inflation.

* Core Inflation (excl. Food & Energy): +4.0% YoY, indicating persistent underlying inflationary pressures.

#PragnaaByJB #InsightsByPragnaa #SriLankaEconomy #CCPI #EconomicUpdate #InflationTrends #InvestmentInsights

[China Now @ChinaNow24]

A Chinese innovation to beat the heat!
In Shanxi Province, a residential complex uses a rooftop mist‑cooling system that lowers the surface temperature by 5 to 8°C within minutes.

[Market News🇱🇰 @MarketNewsLK]

Sri Lanka Rejoins Upper-Middle-Income Status: World Bank Upgrade Signals Strong Recovery 🚀

🌟 Major Milestone: According to the World Bank's latest classification, Sri Lanka has once again been upgraded to an Upper-Middle-Income country based on GNI per capita.

📜 Historical Journey:
- Started as low-income in 1988.
- Rose to lower-middle in 1997.
- Briefly reached upper-middle in 2018 (for one year only).
- Reverted to lower-middle from 2019–2025.
- Now back in upper-middle for the latest update.

💵 Income Thresholds (in USD):
- Low-income: Up to 1,175
- Lower-middle: 1,176 – 4,635
- Upper-middle: 4,636 – 14,375
- High-income: Above 14,376

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka's Figures: World Bank estimates GNI per capita at $4,670. This narrow pass marks a significant achievement.

🌏 Global Context:
Out of 218 classified economies:
- 87 high-income
- 59 upper-middle (Sri Lanka🇱🇰 joins Vietnam🇻🇳, Philippines🇵🇭, Jordan🇯🇴, and Micronesia🇫🇲 in this upgrade)
- 47 lower-middle
- 25 low-income

🌐 World Bank Praise: The Bank highlighted Sri Lanka's remarkable resilience:

“Sri Lanka is a story of rising again from the ashes. After a severe economic crisis in 2022 that nearly collapsed the economy, within just three years, industry revival and growth in finance and tourism have driven 5% real GDP growth in 2025. Crossing the upper-middle threshold, even narrowly, symbolizes the country’s resilience.”
🇱🇰✨🚀

#SriLanka #Economy #growth

[Sri Lanka Tweet 🇱🇰 @SriLankaTweet]

Sri Lanka & India Dance into the Guinness World Records with 4,988 Bharatanatyam Performers
💃 🇱🇰🇮🇳 💃

The ‘Sangamam 2026’ Bharatanatyam Festival has set a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Bharatanatyam Lesson, with 4,988 dancers from Sri Lanka and India performing together shattering the previous record.

A remarkable celebration of culture, unity, and the enduring friendship between the two nations.

Video 📹 JT view

[Pragnaa By JB @pragnaabyjb]

Contd.

[Pragnaa By JB @pragnaabyjb]

Sri Lanka's External Sector – April 2026

Sri Lanka's current account recorded a deficit of 532.4 Mn USD, coming from a surplus of 176.6 USD Mn in April 2025, as import pressures weighed heavily on the trade balance. This was the first monthly deficit recorded since October 2025.

Merchandise trade deficit widened 92.6% YoY as imports surged 45.7% while exports grew a 10.9% YoY, driven by industrial exports.

Vehicle imports appear to be stabilizing at corrected levels, well below the late-2025 peak.

Trade balance hit -USD 1,153.4 Mn, as the services surplus of USD 229.2 Mn only partially offset the merchandise deficit.

Secondary income at USD 754.3 Mn remained the key buffer, but still wasn't enough to keep the current account in the positive territory.

#pragnaabyjb #insightsbypragnaa #SriLankaEconomy #CurrentAccount #Imports #Exports #EconomicUpdate #InvestmentInsights

[DILANJ @dilanj82]

@RehanJayawick none

[DILANJ @dilanj82]

@BuduMalli none

[Numbers.lk @numberslka]

How the SL 🇱🇰 Government Manufactured a Dollar Crisis

⭕ Sri Lanka imposed a temporary 50% surcharge on vehicle Customs Import Duty from May 16, for 3 months.

⭕ The LC opening numbers revealed by Dr. Anil Jayantha:

May 07: USD 2.6 million
May 08: USD 4.6 million
May 11: USD 3.8 million
May 12: USD 4.28 million
May 13: USD 8.36 million
May 14: USD 11 million
May 15: USD 23 million
May 18: USD 17 million

⭕ The government’s intention was to delay vehicle imports by making them more expensive for three months. But the market reacted in the opposite direction.

⭕ Instead of waiting, importers rushed to open LCs. This panic response increased demand for dollars, added more pressure on foreign exchange, and further weakened the rupee.

⭕ This is the problem with shallow policy decisions. A tax or surcharge may look correct on paper, but markets do not always behave the way policymakers expect.

⭕ When secondary effects are ignored, the policy can backfire. In this case, the attempt to reduce immediate pressure may have created even more pressure in the short term.

⭕ This is becoming a repeated weakness in the NPP government’s decision-making process. Policies are announced with good intentions, but without properly considering market dynamics, behavioural responses, and long-term consequences.

⭕ Commercial banks in Sri Lanka are quoting the US dollar selling rate at Rs. 354 today.

#SriLanka