Sri Lanka slashes interest rates

Sri Lanka's central bank cut interest rates by 50 basis points Wednesday in a bid to revive a sluggish economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and the 2019 Easter bomb attacks.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka reduced its lending rate to 6.5 percent, the fourth reduction this year and the sixth since the April 21 attacks last year that killed 279 people.

The deposit rate was cut by 50 basis points to 5.5 percent.

"The board arrived at this decision considering the necessity to further support the economy to weather the adverse economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," the bank said in a statement.