Central Bank maintains rates at 7.75-pct

ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka’s central banks has maintained its policy rate at 7.75 percent in a November 2025 decision, a statement said saying it will help reflate the economy to 5 percent from current largely stable prices.

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Sri Lanka’s rupee had depreciated steadily in 2025, amid record current account surpluses and reduction in budget deficits, helping push up prices of imported goods, amid strong private credit growth.

“The recent depreciation pressure on the rupee has subsided with the improvement in foreign exchange liquidity,” the monetary policy statement said.

Gross official reserves were above 6 billion US dollars in 2025, helped by “net foreign exchange purchases by the Central Bank. Expected additional inflows in December 2025 include receipts from the multilateral organisations,” the central bank said.

The Asian Development Bank has approved several budget support loans totalling around 270 million dollars, in recent weeks and the IMF’s executive is expected to meet on December 15, linked to a 358 million dollar tranche.

Though gross reserves have stagnated, the central bank has settled its reserve related debt to the Reserve Bank of India and the International Monetary Fund, pushing up net foreign assets and helping meet net international reserve targets of the IMF