ECONOMYNEXT – Foreign investors bought Sri Lanka government securities for the first time in four weeks amid uncertainty swirling around U.S. trade policy with the July 9 deadline.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff letters have led investors nervous with the uncertainty over trade deals with advanced countries. Sri Lanka has been imposed a 30 percent reciprocal tariff by Trump this week.
Foreign investors bought 5.65 million dollars worth government securities in the week ended on July 9 after the country saw offshore selling for the three straight weeks, Central Bank data showed.
Foreign investors bought 1,695 million rupees (5.65 million dollars) worth rupee bonds in the week.
Globally investors have been waiting for July 9 to see the impact of Trump’s tariff impacts.
Sri Lanka suffered an outflow of 10.1 billion rupees in the two weeks soon after Trump’s tariff declaration in the first week of April and the rupee has fallen slightly since then, while global investors have been shifting to safe-havens like gold.
The island nation has, however, enjoyed a total inflow of 26.4 billion rupees (around $88 million) into rupee bonds since December 26 last year through June July 9, the data showed.
Sri Lanka’s deflationary policies have helped to see inflows amid curtailed imports, analysts have said.
The country witnessed foreign outflows worth 48.2 billion rupees in 2024 with 66 percent or 78.1 billion rupees worth outflow from the government securities in the first nine months of last year. (Colombo/July 12/2025)
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