Sri Lanka’s inflation hit a ninth straight record in June, official data showed on Friday, rising to 54.6 percent a day after the IMF urged the bankrupt nation to curb soaring prices and corruption.
It was the first time the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) surge surpassed the psychologically important 50 percent mark, according to the Department of Census and Statistics.
The figures came hours after the International Monetary Fund urged Sri Lanka to curb rising inflation and fight corruption as part of an effort to bail out a troubled economy ravaged by a foreign exchange crisis.
The IMF on Thursday ended 10 days of face-to-face talks with Sri Lankan authorities in Colombo after the country asked for a possible bailout.
The CCPI has hit new monthly highs since October, when year-on-year inflation was just 7.6 percent. In May it reached 39.1 percent.
The rupee has lost more than half of its value against the US dollar this year.
According to private economists, consumer prices are rising even faster than official statistics show.
According to Steve Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University who tracks price increases in trouble spots around the world, Sri Lanka’s current inflation rate is 128 percent, beaten only by Zimbabwe’s 365 percent.
Amid an acute energy shortage, Sri Lanka is observing a two-week shutdown of non-essential government facilities, as well as the closure of schools to reduce commuting.
The country’s 22 million people have been suffering from acute shortages of essential goods for months – including food, fuel and medicine.
Protests continue outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office, demanding his resignation over the unprecedented economic turmoil and his mismanagement.
Sri Lanka turned to the IMF in April after the country defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt.
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