COLOMBO, Sept 30, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Sri Lanka's inflation rate hit nearly 70
percent in September for a 12th consecutive monthly record, official data
showed Friday after a year of shortages, price hikes and economic misery.
An unprecedented downturn forced the government to default on its $51 billion
foreign debt in April and go cap-in-hand to the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) for a bailout.
Blackouts, chronic fuel shortages and spiralling consumer costs triggered
months of political unrest, ultimately forcing the president to flee the
country and resign.
Inflation was up 69.8 percent in September, according to the benchmark
Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) -- a rise from 64.3 percent last month
and 5.7 percent a year ago.
Food inflation in September was also a 12th consecutive monthly record at
94.9 percent, according to Sri Lanka's statistics office.
The IMF has tentatively approved a four-year, $2.9 billion bailout to help
Sri Lanka reorganise its finances, subject to an agreement with creditors.
It had also asked the government to contain spiralling inflation and address
corruption as part of efforts to salvage the troubled economy.
The Sri Lankan rupee has lost more than 45 percent of its value against the
US dollar, and the economy is set to contract by 8.7 percent this year.