Official reserve assets inch up in August to $ 6.17 b

Monday, 8 September 2025 02:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Official reserve assets rose marginally to $ 6.17 billion as at end-August 2025, up from $ 6.15 billion as at end-July, the latest data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) showed.

Reserve assets have been inching upwards since falling to $ 6.08 billion in June from a peak of $ 6.5 billion in March 2025.

In August, foreign currency reserves amounted to $ 6.1 billion, up from $ 6.06 billion in July, and $ 6.02 billion in June. Gold assets amounted to $ 52 million as at end-August, up from $ 50 million the previous month, with $ 4 million held in reserves with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) unchanged.

According to CBSL data, Sri Lanka’s short-term drain in foreign currency assets is $ 2 billion, comprising $ 1.2 billion in principle payments and $ 875 million in interest on loans and maturing securities and deposits within a year.

In 2028, Sri Lanka begins capital repayments on bilateral debt to Japan, EXIM Bank China, and EXIM Bank India, while bullet payments and maturities for macro-linked bonds (MLBs) are also scheduled to begin that year.

However, according to Arutha Research Director Umesh Moramudali, the 2028 debt obligations amount to an additional $ 1 billion compared to the $ 2 billion debt servicing requirements in 2026 and 2027, comprising interest payments and multilateral (ADB, World Bank) loan repayments (Please see: https://www.ft.lk/front-page/No-debt-cliff-in-2028-as-SL-outpaces-IMF-projections/44-781258).