Trade deficit contracts significantly in 2019, Central Bank says

The trade deficit in Sri Lanka’s economy contracted significantly in 2019, driven by a sharp contraction in import expenditure. Earnings from exports declined while expenditure on imports increased during December 2019, widening the trade deficit, the Central Bank (CB) said in releasing the economic data for December 2019. 
The speed of recovery (after the Easter Sunday bombings) in tourism industry accelerated in December although cumulative earnings from tourism declined during the year. Workers’ remittances increased notably (year-on-year) in December helping to moderate the cumulative decline in 2019. Meanwhile, there was a notable outflow of foreign investment from the government securities market during December while marginal net outflows were also observed from the CSE. The Sri Lankan rupee appreciated against the US dollar during 2019 and remained stable thus far during 2020, the CB said in the statement.(BS)