Sri Lanka central bank raises rates by 700 basis points

COLOMBO: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka raised its key lending and borrowing rates by 700 basis points each on Friday to tackle inflationary pressures, during the country's spiralling economic crisis.

The Standing Lending Facility rate was raised to 14.50% from 7.5% while the Standing Deposit Facility Rate was increased to 13.50% from 6.5%.

The build-up of aggregate demand, domestic supply disruptions, exchange rate depreciation and the elevated prices of commodities globally could keep up the pressure on inflation, CBSL said in its short monetary policy decision statement.

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