COLOMBO, Jan 24 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lanka’s inflation could rise to over seven percent in January, the country’s central bank governor, Nandalal Weerasinghe, said yesterday.
Addressing a press conference on the first monetary policy review of 2024, he said, the increase in the value added tax (VAT), and the increased price of vegetables, due to supply-side issues, are the main reasons for this prediction.
The increase in VAT alone could drive inflation up to about seven percent, he said.
The VAT was increased by three percent, from 15 percent to 18 percent, with effect from Jan, 2024, after the VAT (Amendment) Bill was passed in Sri Lanka’s parliament in Dec, 2023.
Sri Lanka’s inflation, measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), increased to four percent in Dec, 2023, from 3.4 percent in Nov, the Department of Census and Statistics, said, recently.– NNN-XINHUA
