Sri Lanka' May consumer prices soar 45.3% YoY, highest since 2015

A sharp drop in foreign exchange reserves has left the country of 22 million people struggling to pay for essential imports of food, fuel and medicine.

Sri Lanka's headline inflation accelerated in May to the highest since 2015 due to rising food and transport costs, as the island nation grappled with its worst economic crisis in seven decades.

The consumer price index in May climbed to 45.3% from a year earlier, up from 33.8% the previous month, the statistic department said on Tuesday. It was the highest since at least 2015, according to Refinitiv data and First Capital Research.