ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s monthly exports hit a historical record high in September 2026 led by industrial exports such as petroleum and machinery, the data released by the Central Bank showed.

Merchandise export earnings jumped 21 percent to US$1,377 million in September, surpassing the previous peak of US$1,302 million recorded in July 2025, the Central Bank said.

Industrial exports rose 27.7 percent in the month compared to September 2025 with the export of petroleum products jumping 130 percent to US$149.9 million and machinery and mechanical appliances rising 72 percent to US$70 million, the data showed.

The total exports in the first nine months saw a gain of 5.4 percent to US$10,754.2 million, the official data showed.

The expansion in petroleum re-exports has been anchored by increased maritime transshipment traffic and higher bunkering demand at Sri Lanka’s ports, while mechanical and electrical machinery exports have benefited from expanding regional manufacturing supply chains.

However, despite these periodic growth spurts, several structural and policy bottlenecks hinder Sri Lanka from scaling up to become a top global exporter.

The country remains constrained by a relatively narrow export basket heavily dominated by traditional apparel, tea, and rubber, alongside high domestic energy and logistical costs that weaken price competitiveness.

Furthermore, persistent trade friction such as non-tariff barriers, limited deep-tier integration into global value chains (GVCs), regulatory delays in investment approvals, and capital scarcity for advanced technological R&D continues to cap high-value industrial expansion, preventing local engineering and refined petroleum processing industries from reaching global scale (Colombo/October 30/2026) 

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s overall rate of inflation, as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), rose to more than three-year high of 8.3 percent in October 2026, up from the previous month’s 8.0 percent and breached the Central Bank’s upper inflation target rate of 7 percent for the fourth month, data from the state statistics office showed.

The CCPI for all items in October rose to 209.9, recording an increase of 0.8 index points or 0.4 percent compared to 209.1 in September.

“This represents an increase in expenditure value of Rs.666.63 in the market basket,” the Department of Census and Statistics said in a statement.

The island nation’s economy witnessed upward price adjustments after the government raised fuel prices by nearly 50 percent following a supply shortage due to Middle East escalation, amid higher global oil prices.

It last raised the fuel prices with effect from October 1.

Year-on-year food inflation accelerated to 8.8 percent this month, its highest since May 2023 and rising from 8.7 percent in September.

However, the Restaurant and Hotels category along with Transport accounted for 87 percent of this month’s rise in inflation, the data showed.

Non-food inflation, year on year, rose to 8.0 percent this month, up from the previous month’s 7.7 percent.

Core inflation, year on year, accelerated to a more than three-year high of 5.6 percent in October 2026 from 5.4 percent in the previous month.

The Central Bank kept its Overnight Policy Rate steady in its latest monetary policy meeting last month and said inflation expected be higher single digit through the first quarter of 2027 and ease to 5 percent thereafter. (Colombo/October 30/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 332.50/62 to the US dollar spot on Friday, from 332.55/65 the previous day, while bond yields closed broadly steady, dealers said.

A bond maturing on 01.08.2030 closed at 11.57/65 percent, up from 11.55/60 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.02.2031 closed at 11.85/85 percent, up from 11.70/75 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2032 closed at 12.10/20 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.06.2033 closed at 12.20/35 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.08.2036 closed at 12.80/95 percent. (Colombo/Oct30/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Stock Exchange closed down on Friday, CSE data showed, with the benchmark All Share Price Index falling 0.62 percent.

The ASPI was down 124.82 points at 20,142.33, while the more liquid S&P SL20 was down 0.40 percent, or 23.28 points, at 5,750.64.

Positive contributors to the ASPI were Union Assurance (up 4.08 percent at 68.90 rupees), Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (up 1.10 percent at 55.10 rupees), Ceylon Tobacco Company (up 0.59 percent at 1,795.00 rupees), and John Keells Holdings (up 0.55 percent at 18.20 rupees).

Ambeon Holdings (down 10.72 percent at 30.80 rupees), LOLC Holdings (down 3.66 percent at 375.25 rupees), Royal Ceramics Lanka (down 2.98 percent at 42.30 rupees), Hatton National Bank (down 1.31 percent at 377.75 rupees), and Dialog Axiata (down 0.68 percent at 44.00 rupees) were top negative contributors.

Market turnover was 958.58 million rupees. The Banks industry group led turnover with 185 million rupees.

Commercial Bank recorded a crossing turnover of 50.00 million rupees, according to Dewangi De Silva, Assistant Manager – Research at NDB Securities.

Softlogic Finance PLC recorded a net loss of 100.6 million rupees for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, swinging from a net profit of 84.3 million rupees in the comparative period last year.

The company’s board recommended a 5-for-12 rights issue at 2.50 rupees per share to raise 1.00 billion rupees to strengthen core capital and expand vehicle leasing, subject to shareholder approval on November 13, 2026. (Colombo/Oct30/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board (EDB) has launched an initiative to drive artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among regional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), aimed at sharpening their competitiveness in volatile international markets.

The state export promoter recently concluded a practical workshop in Kandy, drawing 55 regional SME exporters and entrepreneurs to explore how emerging digital applications can optimize day-to-day operations and lower transaction costs.

The program, sponsored by Habib Bank, focused on deploying AI tools across critical export functions, including global market research, foreign buyer identification, digital marketing automation, and predictive customer engagement.

“The interactive sessions demonstrated how AI-powered platforms can help SMEs significantly reduce the time and resource drain associated with routine administration, thereby improving strategic decision-making and opening up new international market corridors,” the EDB said in a statement.

Uditha Bandara, Chief Executive and Founder of Bluechip Tech Limited and Bluechip Technologies Asia, who served as the primary resource person, demonstrated practical deployments of digital tools to bridge capabilities for smaller firms competing globally.

The Kandy workshop forms part of a wider, ongoing digital strategy by the EDB to build out the technological frameworks of outstation enterprise clusters, helping local exporters insulate their margins through higher productivity and process innovation. (Colombo/Oct30/2026)

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee was quoted at 332.60/70 to the US dollar spot on Thursday, weaker from 332.55/65 the previous day, while bond yields were steady, dealers said.

A bond maturing on 15.05.2030 was quoted at 11.45/47 percent, up from 11.40/45 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.10.2030 was quoted at 11.62/65 percent, down from 11.63/67 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.12.2031 was quoted at 11.85/90 percent, down from 11.85/93 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.12.2032 was quoted at 12.10/18 percent, down from 12.15/25 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.10.2034 was quoted at 12.60/63 percent, down from 12.60/65 percent.

The telegraphic transfer rate for the dollar was 328.10 buying, 337.10 selling; the euro was 364.7390 buying, 378.5198 selling; pound was 438.4771 buying, 452.5855 selling. (Colombo/Oct30/2026)