A temporary salve: Implications of an oil bear market on the Sri Lankan economy
By Vishvanathan Subramaniam
Sri Lanka’s fuel bill has been spiralling as of late. According to a recent Central Bank press release on external sector performance, petroleum purchases for the first four months of 2017 were estimated at $ 1.2 billion. This represents a colossal 75% increase in the value of such imports, when compared to tabulated estimates for the corresponding period last year.
This development is of great concern. Given Sri Lanka’s dependency on