Sri Lanka CenBank chief says reserve building is done carefully without pressurizing rupee

EconomyNext reports that Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said Sri Lanka was accumulating foreign currency reserves gradually, seeking to avoid volatility in the rupee. He spoke at a Colombo forum titled “From Resilience to Sustainable Growth”, jointly organised by the Colombo Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka.

EconomyNext reports that reserves had remained around US$6.9 billion at the end of September, while Sri Lanka is committed to building them to about US$8 billion by the end of 2026 under its agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Weerasinghe said the bank was allowing the currency to move gradually in response to market demand and supply.

EconomyNext reports that Weerasinghe linked the slower pace of reserve accumulation this year to substantial foreign currency demand for petroleum imports. He said the Central Bank might have accumulated a further US$2 billion if that amount had not gone toward petroleum following conflict in the Middle East. He also said the bank was not in a crisis situation and was not rushing to build reserves at the cost of devaluing the currency.

EconomyNext reports that the rupee had recovered from around 360 to the US dollar after its sharp fall in March 2022, when usable reserves reached about US$20 million, and was trading near 330. It had depreciated 6.7% against the dollar so far in 2026, with the steepest decline in May amid a surge in global oil prices and supply uncertainty.