The Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated 5.4 percent against the US dollar so far in 2026, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s latest Weekly Economic Indicators report shows.
Gross official reserves were provisionally estimated at US$6.77 billion at the end of April 2026, including proceeds from the People’s Bank of China swap arrangement, the report said.
A widening year-to-date depreciation
The 5.4 percent figure is a sharp widening from the 1.8 percent year-to-date depreciation the CBSL reported in mid-April, reflecting sustained pressure on the currency as Middle East-driven oil import costs continued to weigh on the external sector through May.
The slide accelerated this week, with the rupee falling Rs.4 in a single day as the CBSL selling rate climbed past Rs.334 on Friday — the sharpest single-day move this cycle. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told a Nindavur rally last week that 2022-style economic collapse “will not happen again,” citing reserves of about $7 billion.
PBoC swap, oil bill weigh on the buffer
The end-April $6.77 billion total includes the PBoC swap facility, which opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has questioned the convertibility of when discussing headline reserve figures. Reserves had earlier fallen in March 2026 as oil import costs climbed, and the CBSL Governor explicitly tied the rupee weakness to the oil shock on May 18.
The CBSL indicators come ahead of the IMF Article IV mission later this year and form the working baseline for the government’s external-sector debate.
