Sri Lanka hopes for single digit inflation by year-end: Central Bank Governor

Colombo, May 26 (PTI) Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe has said the decisive policy measures taken by the government to deal with the catastrophic economic crisis will help reduce the country's hyperinflation to single-digit by the year-end.

Weerasinghe who took over the economic recovery process at the height of the crisis last year said that short-term painful measures were vital to restore the long-term stability of Sri Lanka's economy.

Addressing a symposium on entrepreneurship organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) here on Thursday, he said, "We have taken very decisive measures to curtail and prevent inflation rising, which went to the peak of 70 per cent. Now it is under 30 per cent. It will certainly be a single digit by the fourth quarter of this year with the measures that we have implemented." Commenting on the restrictive measures taken by the government to stabilise the island nation's economy, Weerasinghe said that collective policy measures are painful for businesses and households.