Friday Jan 09, 2026
Friday Jan 09, 2026
Friday, 9 January 2026 00:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday said Sri Lanka’s Gross Official Reserves (GOR) climbed to over $ 6.8 billion by end-2025, marking the highest reserve level registered since the country’s economic crisis, despite continued external pressures.
He noted that reserves hovered between $ 6 billion and $ 6.3 billion for most of the year, even as Sri Lanka faced challenging conditions including the need to service external Government debt without matching inflows and a sharp increase in foreign exchange demand following the resumption of vehicle imports.
The Governor said the improvement was largely driven by net foreign exchange purchases of around $ 2 billion made by the CBSL from the domestic foreign exchange market in 2025, calculated on a value-date basis, along with inflows from multilateral agencies.
He added that reserve accumulation has been sustained over the past three years, with the CBSL recording net foreign exchange purchases of $ 1.7 billion in 2023 and $ 2.8 billion in 2024, reinforcing external buffers during the post-crisis recovery period.
Dr. Weerasinghe said the CBSL remains committed to further strengthening reserve buffers through market-based purchases, while maintaining exchange rate flexibility, in line with Sri Lanka’s reserve adequacy requirements and broader macroeconomic stability objectives.
