Inflation dropped by three digits to 70.6% last month

Inflation, measured by the Year-on-Year change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), has decreased to 70.6% in October 2022, from 73.7% in September 2022, the Department of Census and Statistics said on Monday.

Contributions to the inflation for October 2022 from the food group was 38.5 percent. The non-food group contributed 32.1 percent.

Price of fresh fish, rice, dried fish, coconut oil, sugar, Mysore dhal, potatoes, chicken, biscuits, wheat flour, chili powder and green chilies decreased in October.

However, prices of milk powder, big onions, fresh fruits, tea leaves, bread, rice flour, vegetables, infant milk powder, and green gram increased in October.

Sri Lanka has been witnessing inflation of over 50 percent from June this year.

The Central Bank has increased interest rates by seven percent to control inflation.

The Central Bank says that inflation will drop to 4-5 percent by the first quarter of 2023 due to the monetary policy they are following and developments in the external environment.