The Central Bank of Sri Lanka says the country’s trade deficit further narrowed in November 2021 as the earnings from exports recorded the highest monthly export value in history for a sixth consecutive month of above USD 1.0 billion of export earnings in 2021.
The Central Bank in its External Sector Performance review for the month said merchandise trade deficit narrowed to USD 533 million in November 2021, compared to USD 600 million in November 2020.
Earnings from exports in November 2021 recorded the highest monthly export value in the history while marking the sixth consecutive month of above US dollars 1.0 billion of exports.
Meanwhile, import expenditure also increased at a higher rate in November 2021.
Reflecting the favourable impact of increased exports, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed to US dollars 553 million in November 2021 compared to US dollars 600 million in November 2020.
Tourist arrivals continued to gather momentum with a notable increase over the previous month, showing strong signs of revival.
A further moderation of workers’ remittances was observed in November 2021.
The weighted average spot exchange rate in the interbank market continued to hover around Rs.202 per US dollar during the month.
External Sector Performance 2021 November
