“SL expecting further contraction in economy”

Sri Lanka is expecting a further contraction in the economy after a negative growth in 2022, Cabinet Spokesperson Bandula Gunawardena said.

A World Bank report previously said the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Sri Lanka was expected to contract by 9.2 percent in 2022 and a further 4.2 percent in 2023.

Sri Lanka’s GDP contracted by 11.8 percent in the third quarter of 2022, the state statistics office said, as the economy started to stabilize from two years of money printing and a currency collapse.

The country is reeling from the worst monetary shock delivered by the Central Bank in its history, after two years of money printing led to a collapse of the currency from LKR 200 to 260 to the US dollar due to a float botched with a surrender rule. (Foreign Media)