Sri Lanka’s spending on fuel imports rose 51.5% in the first nine months of 2026, climbing from $2,961.3 million a year earlier to $4,487.2 million, according to the latest Central Bank statistics.
The increase of $1,525.9 million was driven mainly by refined petroleum, Hiru News reported on Monday. Spending on refined petroleum imports rose 60.4% over the same period, from $2,171.4 million to $3,483.7 million.
EconomyNext reported the same 51.5% cumulative rise, putting the nine-month total at around $4.5 billion.
Monthly spending is falling
The cumulative figure conceals a reversal in recent months.
Fuel import spending in September 2026 was $415.1 million, down 5.8% from the $440.7 million recorded in September 2025, Hiru reported.
EconomyNext adds a separate measure pointing the same way: the Central Bank said spending on fuel imports fell for the fifth consecutive month on a month-on-month basis. The two are different measures — one a year-on-year comparison for a single month, the other a run of consecutive monthly declines — and neither should be read as the other.
What pushed the bill up
The nine-month increase reflects higher import prices rather than higher volumes. Crude and refined product prices rose through the year amid the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which also pushed up freight and insurance costs.
Domestic prices have followed. The state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation raised fuel prices with effect from 2 November, EconomyNext reported, lifting key transport fuel prices.
Context
The fuel bill moved in the opposite direction to vehicle imports. This desk reported on Monday that vehicle import spending fell 34% in September even as registrations rose.
Readers searching for this story should note that the Central Bank publishes these import figures monthly and the headlines are near-identical from month to month. An August edition reported the fuel bill up about 62% to $4.1 billion over eight months; the figures above are the nine-month series and are not comparable with it.
