Collected photo

COLOMBO, Sept 30, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Sri Lanka's inflation rose to its highest 
level in 14 months in September due to higher costs for food, health and 
education, the country's statistics office said Tuesday.

Year-on-year inflation was 1.5 percent, up from 1.2 percent in August and 
compared with a deflation of 0.5 percent a year earlier, official data 
showed.

September's inflation was the highest since July last year, when prices rose 
by 2.4 percent. Food prices alone jumped 2.9 percent in September while non-
food items rose at a modest 0.7 percent.

Sri Lanka's central bank has said it expects prices to rise further by the 
end of the year and could reach a targeted five percent.

Inflation in Sri Lanka hit a record 69.8 percent three years ago at the 
height of the country's worst economic crisis, when it ran out of foreign 
exchange to finance even the most essential imports.

However, prices have stabilised since the country secured a $2.9-billion 
bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in early 2023.

The government has also reached debt restructuring agreements with 
international lenders, and the IMF has said the economy has stabilised, 
although recovery remains fragile.