CCPI accelerates in March 2025

Wednesday, 1 April 2026 00:24 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (YoY) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), accelerated in March 2026 as expected due to the impact of the Mideast war.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) yesterday said headline inflation year-on-year (YoY) accelerated to 2.2% in March 2026, up from 1.6% in February.

However, it was lower than 2.3% in January. Inflation was stable at 2.1% in October, November and December 2025.

Food inflation YoY was up to 0.7% in March, compared to 0.2% in February but remained relatively lower than 3.3% in January and 3% in December.

Non-food inflation YoY accelerated to 2.9% in March, up from 2.3% in February and 1.8% in January.

On a month-on-month basis, the CCPI recorded an increase of 0.25%, compared to a 0.85% decrease in February.

The increase was driven by the non-food category, which contributed 0.52 percentage points largely owing to the increase in prices of the transport sub-category in the CCPI. Food had contributed a negative 0.27 percentage points to the month-on-month CCPI increase.

Core inflation YoY accelerated to 2.5% in March 2026, up from 2.1% in February.

The CBSL said: “Realised quarterly average inflation for Q1-2026 remains broadly aligned with the recent inflation projections of the Central Bank. Inflation projections made at the monetary policy round in March 2026, based on the latest available data and assumptions amid prevailing geopolitical uncertainties, indicate that inflation is expected to reach the target of 5% in Q2-2026, earlier than previously anticipated. Inflation is projected to remain around the target thereafter, with the support of appropriate policies.”