Rupee value of total outstanding foreign debt amounted to Rs. 11,529 bn by end May 2022

By end May 2022, total outstanding domestic debt amounted to Rs. 12,522.1bn while the rupee value of total outstanding foreign debt amounted to Rs. 11,529.2 bn, according to Weekly Economic Indicators report of the Central Bank.Meanwhile, outstanding central government debt increased to Rs. 24,051.4 bn by end May 2022 from Rs. 17,589.4 bn as at end 2021.

The reserve money increased compared to the previous week mainly due to increase in the deposits held by the commercial banks with the Central Bank.The total outstanding market liquidity was a deficit of Rs. 515.506 bn by the end of this week, compared to a deficit of Rs. 517.43 bn by the end of last week.

The report further said: IIP in August 2022 decreased by 14.3 per cent to 90.5 compared to August 2021. Among the major sub divisions of the manufacturing industries, “coke and refined petroleum products” (72.4 per cent) and “Food products” (12.5 per cent) have mainly contributed to this overall decrease.

During the period under review (08.10.2022 to 14.10.2022) crude oil prices showed a decreasing trend. At the beginning of the period, prices decreased due to growing risks of global recession and the resumption of COVID-19 containment measures in China. However, prices increased towards the end of the week on concerns surrounding OPEC+’s substantial supply cut last week. Overall, during the period under review, Brent and WTI prices decreased by US dollars 2.09 per barrel and US dollars 2.42 per barrel, respectively.

Weekly AWPR for the week ending 14th October 2022 increased by 203 bps to 28.73 per cent compared to the previous week.By 14th October 2022, the All Share Price Index (ASPI) increased by 0.48 per cent to 9,093.37 points and the S&P SL 20 Index increased by 0.39 per cent to 2,782.73 points, compared to the index values of last week.

During the year up to 14th October 2022, the Sri Lankan rupee depreciated against the US dollar by 44.8 per cent. Given the cross currency exchange rate movements, the Sri Lankan rupee depreciated against the Indian rupee by 39.0 per cent, the Euro by 36.2 per cent, the pound sterling by 34.3 per cent and the Japanese yen by 29.4 per cent during this period.