Remittances sent home by Sri Lankan migrant workers passed US$5 billion in the first seven months of 2026, according to Central Bank of Sri Lanka data.
Inflows from January to July totalled US$5,382.4 million, against US$4,435.2 million in the same period last year — an increase of US$947.2 million, or a little over 21 percent.
July inflows rise again
July alone brought in US$777.6 million, up US$80.3 million on the US$697.3 million recorded in June.
That month-on-month gain reverses a softer run. June had been the weakest month since November 2025, with remittances falling to a seven-month low from US$847 million in May. Analysts had linked that slide to rupee depreciation from April amid Middle East tensions, noting that expatriates tend to shift to informal channels such as Hawala and Undiyal when the exchange rate is uncertain.
The June figure has been revised marginally upward in the latest data, from the US$695 million first reported to US$697.3 million.
Why the figure matters
Remittances are one of the largest sources of foreign exchange available to the country, sitting alongside tourism and export earnings in rebuilding external buffers after the 2022 crisis.
The Central Bank reported official reserves of US$6.59 billion at the end of July. Remittance inflows feed directly into that reserve position and into the supply of dollars in the domestic market.
The seven-month total also builds on an unusually strong base. Remittances over the first half of 2026 reached US$4,604.8 million, up 23.2 percent year-on-year, at a point when tourism earnings and reserves were both weakening. Full-year 2025 inflows of US$8,076.2 million were an all-time high.
Sources: Ada Derana, Daily Mirror.
