Sri Lanka inflation jumps close to 40% in May as shortages persist

Sri Lanka’s headline inflation quickened more than expected in May amid continuing food and fuel shortages, even as the country struggles to lift itself out of its worst economic crisis.

Consumer prices in the capital Colombo rose 39.1% from a year ago, the Department of Census and Statistics said in a statement Tuesday. That’s faster than the median 35% climb forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey and is the highest level on record.

Food inflation surged 57.4%, while prices of non-food items jumped 30.6%, the data showed.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka, which this month left borrowing costs