Sri Lanka’s consumer prices rise 2.4% on-year in November

Sri Lanka’s consumer prices climbed 2.4% year-on-year in November, after rising 2.7% in October, the statistics department said on Monday.

The National Consumer Price Index captures broad retail price inflation and is released with a lag of about three weeks each month.

The annual inflation rate in the food category declined to 3.6% in November from 4.1% in October. In the non-food category, consumer prices were up 1.5% last month, in line with October’s 1.5% growth.

Sri Lanka’s food inflation could accelerate after Cyclone Ditwah smashed through the island in late November.  Floods, prolonged inundation, and winds damaged more than 100,000 hectares of rice fields and impacted about 105,000 hectares of maize, pulses, bananas, and vegetables, authorities said.

Sri Lanka forecasts 5% growth in 2026, aided by post-cyclone reconstruction

Farmers have started replanting rice and vegetables across the country.

“Food inflation could go up to about 5.5% in the coming period with overall inflation reaching 3.5%-4% but it will taper off as fresh stocks of food reach the market,” said Raynal Wickremeratne, research co-head at Softlogic Stockbrokers.

“Overall we do not see it as being a major point of concern, yet.”

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has set an inflation target of 5%, which it has said will be reached in mid-2026.