Central Bank expected to hold rates to bolster growth

Sri Lanka's central bank is expected hold policy rates unchanged for a third consecutive meeting on Thursday (22) in its bid to boost economic growth and help mitigate the fallout from potential US tariffs, a Reuters poll showed.

- Uditha Jayasinghe

The country grew at a better-than-predicted pace of 5% in 2024, a turning point after its economy tumbled into a deep financial crisis, exacerbated by a severe shortage of dollars, three years ago.

All twelve of the analysts and economists polled by Reuters unanimously expect the monetary authority will maintain its policy stance amid benign inflation, stable growth, and uncertainty over simmering US tariff tensions.