Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sri Lanka’s Inflation Outlook ‘Benign,’ Governor Cabraal Says

 By Asantha Sirimanne and Anusha Ondaatjie

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka’s inflation outlook is “benign” and consumer price gains won’t reach double-digits, Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said.

“We do not see any major pressure building up,” Cabraal said at an interview in his office in Colombo today. “We will see slight increases and decreases but overall it will not be uncontrollable.”

Consumer prices in Colombo rose 5 percent in August from a year earlier, the first acceleration in six months. The Sri Lankan central bank lowered borrowing costs in July and August, in contrast to monetary authorities in Asia, including India, Malaysia and Thailand, which have raised rates to counter inflation and prevent asset bubbles.

The Sri Lankan central bank isn’t “unduly worried” about asset bubbles, Cabraal said.

Sri Lanka’s September inflation data will be released tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. in Colombo. Inflation may accelerate to 5.3 percent, according to a median estimate of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

--Editors: Abhay Singh, Arijit Ghosh

source - www.businessweek.com

No comments: