Remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad reached US$ 7.60 billion in the first ten months of 2026, after October inflows held close to September’s level.
Workers sent home US$ 735.6 million in October, a 3.3% increase on the US$ 712 million recorded in October 2025, and marginally above September’s US$ 734.4 million. The month-on-month figures suggest inflows have settled onto a plateau rather than continuing to climb.
Cumulatively the picture is stronger. The January–October total of US$ 7.60 billion is 16.5% above the US$ 6.52 billion received over the same period last year — roughly US$ 1.08 billion in additional inflows. In rupee terms the ten-month figure is Rs. 2.46 trillion, a 25.8% increase, the wider gap reflecting the currency’s movement over the year.
The October figure is consistent with the US$ 6.86 billion reported for the first nine months.
The wider external position
The same data set places remittances alongside two other indicators.
The Central Bank was a net buyer of US$ 191 million in the domestic foreign exchange market during October — meaning it absorbed dollars from the market rather than selling to defend the currency.
Gross official reserves stood at a provisional US$ 7.09 billion at the end of October, a figure that includes proceeds from the swap arrangement with the People’s Bank of China. That swap component is not freely usable for all purposes, a qualification that applies to the headline reserve number whenever it is cited.
The rupee depreciated 6.7% against the US dollar between January and 6 November.
Remittances remain one of the country’s largest and most reliable sources of foreign exchange, and the gap between the 16.5% dollar growth and the 25.8% rupee growth is a direct function of that depreciation — recipients received materially more rupees per dollar sent than a year earlier.
Not reported
The filing carries no breakdown by source country or by formal versus informal channel, and quotes no official. It does not say whether the near-flat September-to-October movement reflects seasonal patterns, a change in departures for foreign employment, or a shift back toward informal transfer channels. Daily Mirror’s account carries no reporter byline.
