President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Wednesday made his clearest public appeal yet for Sri Lankans to reduce their consumption of fuel and imported goods, warning that the island is in the grip of a severe dollar crisis driven by a strengthening US currency.
Speaking at the “Ratama Ekata” national anti-narcotics programme in Batticaloa District, the President acknowledged that the dollar’s rise against foreign currencies globally had weighed directly on the rupee, which reached a selling rate of Rs. 346.50 this week — the highest recorded in the current cycle.
Hours earlier, the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), which represents Sri Lanka’s largest export industry, offered a similar framing while seeking to reassure businesses. JAAF said the rupee’s slide should not be read as a sign of domestic economic underperformance but as part of a broader regional pattern driven by Middle East conflict, higher global fuel costs, and rising shipping charges.
JAAF cited data consistent with figures released by the Central Bank Governor earlier this week: the Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated 4.8 percent against the dollar in the current period, compared with 6.4 percent for the Indian rupee, 6.2 percent for the Nepalese rupee, and 5.2 percent for the Indonesian rupiah.
“The current movement of the rupee must be understood within the correct context. This is not a Sri Lanka-specific situation,” the forum said.
Despite the reassurance from industry, the President’s intervention signals that Colombo views the foreign exchange pressure as serious enough to require behavioural change from the public. Bond yields have also risen this week, and the Colombo Stock Exchange closed down nearly 2 percent on Wednesday, with market analysts attributing the fall directly to rupee depreciation concerns.
The CBSL Governor had earlier framed the depreciation in regional terms, noting the rupee slide reflects global factors rather than domestic policy failures. Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha pushed back on “crisis” framing in parliament days later, while opposition MP Marikkar highlighted the rupee reaching Rs. 336 and diesel costs as evidence of a deepening problem.
