Sri Lanka’s headline inflation was unchanged at 8.0% year-on-year in September 2026, holding at a 37-month high and breaching the Central Bank’s upper target of 7% for a third consecutive month, data released by the Department of Census and Statistics shows.
The Colombo Consumer Price Index stood at 209.1 for all items in September, up 0.3 index points — or 0.1% — from 208.8 in August.
“This represents an increase in expenditure value of Rs. 358.48 in the market basket,” the Department of Census and Statistics said, EconomyNext reported.
Food is where the pressure is
The headline number was flat, but its composition was not.
| Measure | September 2026 | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Headline (CCPI, y/y) | 8.0% | 8.0% |
| Food | 8.7% | 8.5% |
| Non-food | 7.7% | 7.7% |
| Core | 5.4% | 5.1% |
Food inflation accelerated to 8.7%, its highest rate since May 2023, while non-food inflation was steady at 7.7%, Hiru News reported.
Core inflation — which strips out food and energy and is the measure central banks watch for underlying price pressure — rose to 5.4% from 5.1%. That is the one series in the table that moved meaningfully, and it moved up.
The fuel shock is still working through
The price adjustments behind the current run trace to the government raising fuel prices by close to 50% after a supply disruption caused by the escalation in the Middle East, against a backdrop of higher global oil prices.
Those increases are also why the government has been running fuel subsidies: Rs. 57 billion between April and June, and a further Rs. 40.65 billion approved by Cabinet for October to December, this time allocated only to diesel.
Read alongside today’s rate decision
The figure lands the same day the Monetary Policy Board held the Overnight Policy Rate at 8.75% and said it expects inflation to stay in high single digits through the first quarter of 2027 before easing toward its 5% target.
Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe separately told reporters that inflation would have been higher still without the fuel subsidy and the surcharge on vehicle imports.
Not reported
Neither outlet gives the month-on-month rate for food separately, the district-level breakdown, or the Department’s revision, if any, to prior months.
