State Minister attributes appreciation of Rupee to unpopular govt decisions

State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has attributed the recent appreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee against the US Dollar to certain key decisions that were made by the government, pertaining to the economy.Speaking on the recent significant appreciation of the Rupee against the USD, Siyambalapitiya said that the strengthening of the country’s currency, amidst one of it most unprecedented crises, was due to several key decisions made by the government, albeit severely unpopular.
 

He further noted that Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves increased by 23.5% (USD 400 million) from USD 1.7 billion in September 2022 to USD 2.1 billion in February 2023, while headline inflation dropped to 60.1% in January 2023 from 94.9% in September 2022.

Commenting on the spike in tourist arrivals, the State Minister emphasised that there has been an increase of 261%, with 107,639 tourists arrivals being recorded in February 2023, in comparison to the 29,802 recorded in September 2022.