Sri Lanka August annual inflation eases to 7pc

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's annual inflation slowed to a lower-than-expected 7.0 percent in August from a year earlier, down from 7.5 percent in July, according to a new consumer price index, government data showed on Tuesday.

Annual average inflation, measured by a 12-month moving average, accelerated to 7.1 percent this month, its highest in the new index, from 7.0 percent in July. A Reuters poll by 14 analysts had expected annual inflation to stabilise at 7.5 percent and the annual average to hit 7.2 percent.

The Department of Census and Statistics in June introduced the new index based on a 2006/2007 survey, replacing an earlier one that had 2002 as a base year.

Copyright Reuters, 2011