The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) says that the amount of expatriate workers’ remittances in September has slightly decreased compared to August.

The Sri Lankan workers’ remittances amounted to $ 556 million in September, a slight moderation compared to $ 577 million in August, as per the latest external sector performance report published by the CBSL.

However, the report also indicated that this is notably higher in comparison to $ 482 million recorded in September 2023.

Meanwhile, the monthly workers’ remittances have exceeded $ 500 million since March, according to the CBSL.

Against this backdrop, the earnings from tourism in September amounted to $ 181 million, compared to $ 282 million in August and $ 152 million in September 2023, the CBSL added.

In its latest report, the CBSL also indicated that the gross official reserves (GOR) stood at $ 6 billion at the end September, recording an increase of around $ 1.6 billion from end 2023.

This includes the swap facility from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which is subject to conditionalities on usability. Net purchases of foreign exchange from the domestic foreign exchange market by the Central Bank amounted to $ 96 million (based on trade date) in September.

Meanwhile, import coverage of GOR (including the PBOC swap) amounted to 3.9 months of imports as at end September, according to the CBSL.