📈 Sri Lanka Headline Inflation Accelerates to 8.3% in October

Sri Lanka’s CCPI-based headline inflation rose to 8.3% YoY in October (up from 8% in September), staying above the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) 5% ±2% target band for the fourth consecutive month. • Overall Inflation Trends: • Headline YoY: 8.3% (vs 8.0% in Sept, 2.1% in Oct 2025) • Month-on-Month: +0.35% (vs +0.19% in Sept) • Annual Average Headline: 5.0% (vs 4.5% in Sept) • Core Inflation (ex-food & energy): Accelerated to 5.6% YoY (vs 5.4% in Sept) • Category & Subcategory Breakdown: • Food Inflation: Edged up to 8.8% YoY (vs 8.7% in Sept); contributed +0.02% MoM • Non-Food Inflation: Climbed to 8.0% YoY (vs 7.7% in Sept); contributed +0.33% MoM • Transport: Rose significantly to 17.6% YoY (vs 16.3% in Sept) • Restaurants & Hotels: Advanced to 13.4% YoY (vs 11.5% in Sept), driving the non-food MoM gain • Health: Eased to 2.6% YoY (vs 4.0% in Sept) • CBSL Outlook: • Inflation expected to remain in high single digits through Q1 2027 before easing toward the 5% medium-term target, contingent on Middle East tensions dissipating.