Sri Lanka’s trade deficit declined by $320 million to $514 million in October compared to the preceding month, the Central Bank (CB) data showed.
The $ 514 million trade deficit recorded in October this year was also significantly lower than the deficit of $ 838 million recorded in October last year.
The improvement in the trade balance was due to a $453 million decline in imports, which was greater than the $129 million decline in exports during the period under review.
“While imports continued to be restrained under low global oil prices and import restrictions imposed by the Government, exports dropped in October 2020 due to the disruptions to local production and support services following the resurgence of COVID-19 cases since early October and weak demand from foreign buyers,” the CB stated.
The cumulative deficit narrowed to $4.85 billion during the ten months up to October from $6.45 billion in the same period in 2019.