Colombo, March 01 (Daily Mirror) - Sri Lanka’s merchandise trade deficit in January widened to US$ 514 million from US$ 445 million in the corresponding month the previous year due to a higher increase in imports.

Provisional data released by the Central Bank this week showed that earnings from merchandise exports recorded a marginal decline of 0.8 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to US$ 971 million in January 2024 compared to US$ 978 million in January 2023.

In terms of merchandise imports, expenditure increased by 6.2 percent YoY to US$ 1,512 million in January 2024

The increase in expenditure on consumer goods and investment goods partly driven by the relaxation of import restrictions contributed to this increase, the Central Bank said