The deficit in the trade account widened on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis to US dollars 586 million in August 2021, compared to the deficit of US dollars 342 million recorded in August 2020. The cumulative deficit in the trade account from January to August 2021 also widened to US dollars 5,509 million from US dollars 3,812 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Increased financial inflows bolstered Gross Official Reserves (GOR) during the month of August 2021, while merchandise exports exceeded US dollars 1.0 billion for the third consecutive month. However, the increase of import expenditure outpaced the increase of export earnings, resulting in an expansion of the trade deficit, compared to a year earlier. Tourist arrivals gathered some momentum in August 2021, recording a notable increase over the previous month, although the numbers remained low. A moderation of workers’ remittances was observed in August 2021. Sri Lanka received the allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the general SDR allocation in 2021. Further, initial disbursements under the bilateral currency swap arrangement between the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Bangladesh Bank were received during August 2021. The average spot exchange rate in the interbank market remained broadly stable in August 2021, while pressures on the exchange rate were observed towards the end of the month, prompting the Central Bank to intervene in the foreign exchange market to stabilise the rupee.