Sri Lanka’s forex reserves dwindle to $1.82B in July
Sri Lanka's forex reserves declined further to $1.82 billion in July, reports Bloomberg.
The debt-ridden economy spent $4 million last month from its reserves of $1.86 billion in June to meet the payment for fuel and other essentials, according to the central bank of Sri Lanka.
The remaining reserves includes a $1.5 billion swap arrangement with China that Sri Lanka can only access if overall reserves rise to a certain level.
The decline in the stockpile comes amid fears of a delay in an International Monetary Fund bailout due to lingering political uncertainties even as the new President Ranil Wickremesinghe vowed to revive the economy and pursue a debt restructuring with the IMF.
Sri Lanka has about $12.6 billion in outstanding bonds owed to global funds; it owes roughly an equivalent amount to bilateral creditors and multilateral lenders.
