Trade gap narrows further in May

14 July 2014 06:10 am Views - 5394

Sri Lanka's trade deficit narrowed 47.9 percent year-on-year (yoy) in May to US $ 393.4 million amid improved export earnings and lower imports, the data released by the Central Bank showed.

The trade deficit for the first five months of the year also narrowed 19.3 percent yoy to US $ 3014.7 million.

During the month of May, all the main export categories recorded positive growths, lifting the export earnings 11.1 percent yoy to US $ 882.1 million.

The expenditure on imports fell 17.6 percent yoy to US $ 1275.5 million mainly due to a drastic drop in fuel bill to US $ 208.9 million.