Sri Lanka’s annual inflation hit a decade high of 29.9 percent in April as food prices rose, the government said Wednesday.
The Colombo Consumer Price Index, which is the official measure of the island’s inflation rate, rose to 6,527.1 in April, up from 5,025.4 a year earlier, the census and statistics department said.
Prices of rice, milk, fish, eggs, onions, vegetables and coconuts climbed steadily in April, while sugar, chillies and potatoes eased during the same period, the department said. The government has blamed runaway inflation on high global crude oil, commodity and grain prices. However, the International Monetary Fund has said that inflation was due mainly to loose fiscal and monetary policies rather than high oil prices.
David Burton, the head of the IMF’s Asia-Pacific department, said that “clearly, bringing inflation down is a priority.”
Sri Lanka’s inflation has also worsened since government forces ended a six-year truce with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in January and fighting erupted with the guerrillas in the north.
dailytimes
The Colombo Consumer Price Index, which is the official measure of the island’s inflation rate, rose to 6,527.1 in April, up from 5,025.4 a year earlier, the census and statistics department said.
Prices of rice, milk, fish, eggs, onions, vegetables and coconuts climbed steadily in April, while sugar, chillies and potatoes eased during the same period, the department said. The government has blamed runaway inflation on high global crude oil, commodity and grain prices. However, the International Monetary Fund has said that inflation was due mainly to loose fiscal and monetary policies rather than high oil prices.
David Burton, the head of the IMF’s Asia-Pacific department, said that “clearly, bringing inflation down is a priority.”
Sri Lanka’s inflation has also worsened since government forces ended a six-year truce with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in January and fighting erupted with the guerrillas in the north.
dailytimes
