Sri Lanka trade deficit contained: Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Sri-Lanka's trade deficit in the first two months of this year has declined by over 20 per cent year on year due to multi-pronged policy strategies implemented during the first half of 2012, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said today.
It added that the curbing of the trade deficit has resulted in declining expenditure on imports by over 9 per cent year on year.
According to the CBSL, the numbers of tourist arrivals in February had increased by over 11 per cent year on year while recording an over 20 per cent growth in earnings.
Earnings from remittances from Sri Lankan expat workers recorded a 4.2 per cent growth while there had been substantial inflows of foreign investments in the securities market, it said.

Earlier this week the Hong Kong based Fitch Ratings last week had commended the Sri Lankan economy's sustenance of resilient growth.
The GDP grew 6.4 per cent in 2012 down from over 8 per cent recorded in 2011. They forecast 6.5 to 7 per cent growth in 2013 and 2014 down from the government forecasts of 7.5 to 8 per cent.