COLOMBO, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in its latest report published Thursday, has projected Sri Lanka's economy to grow by 1.9 percent in 2024 and 2.5 percent in 2025 following two consecutive years of contractions.
In its annual flagship economic publication, the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) April 2024, the ADB said Sri Lankan inflation decelerated to single digits in 2023, following a peak in 2022, and will remain below 10 percent in 2024 and 2025.
The ADB report added that after depreciating sharply in 2022, the Sri Lankan rupee appreciated by 12.1 percent against the dollar in 2023 as the country moved to a flexible exchange rate.
The ADB said the country's economy contracted in the first half of 2023, but grew by 3 percent in the second half of the year.
However, the weak domestic demand dragged down economic performance, and overall consumption fell by 2.2 percent in 2023 with private consumption declining by 1.6 percent and government consumption declining by 5.4 percent, the ADB said.
Inflation is expected to average 7.5 percent in 2024 and fall within the central bank's target range of 4 to 6 percent in 2025, according to the ADB. ■
