News & market updates

Gold hit a record high, with spot gold at $4,501.44/oz (up 0.5%) and an intraday peak of $4,530.60, driven by safe-haven demand and rising expectations of further U.S. Fed rate cuts.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon signed an MoU with Colonial Motors to run a joint promotional campaign to facilitate Mazda purchases via the Bank’s leasing solutions until 30 November 2026. The bank will offer attractive interest rates and flexible leasing while Colonial Motors provides Rs.150,000 off, free registration, seven labour-free services and 15% spare parts discount for first owners.

Sri Lanka Christmas cake inflation rose 4.4% in 2025 amid rupee depreciation, with the cost of 11 key ingredients up to 15,180 rupees from 14,744 in 2024. The rupee fell to 306.30/USD over 12 months and Colombo CPI rose 2.1% to November 2025 amid central bank exchange-rate interventions.

Cabinet approved the Sustainable Agriculture Program to start in 2026 with Rs.800 million from a revolving Sustainable Agricultural Fund to provide concessional agriculture loans at 2% p.a.; individual loans up to Rs.5m and bulk loans up to Rs.500,000 will be disbursed via agricultural and Samurdhi banks.

Secondary government bond yields rose sharply after the T‑bill auction, with the 364‑day tenor up 16bps and several maturities trading higher (e.g. 01.07.30 at 9.95%). The Treasury will auction Rs.55bn on 30 Dec (Rs.30bn 1‑Jul‑2030 @9.75%; Rs.25bn 1‑Jul‑2037 @10.75%); liquidity surplus Rs.102.48bn; USD/LKR ~309.70.

Gold hit a record above $4,400/oz (spot high $4,426.66) and silver also reached record highs as investors sought safe havens amid expectations of US rate cuts, geopolitical tensions and increased central bank buying.

Sri Lanka's rupee closed flat at 309.65/75 to the US dollar while government bond yields rose; the 15.03.2028 bond closed at 9.10–9.18% and the 01.11.2033 bond rose to 10.54–10.60%.

Sri Lanka's rupee opened at 309.60/70 per US$, essentially flat from the prior day, while government bond yields were broadly steady (e.g. 15.12.2028: 9.15/25%; 01.11.2033: 10.45/50%). The rupee has fallen from about 292 in Dec 2024 amid central bank measures restricting convertibility.

The 364-day Treasury Bill weighted average rate rose 16bps to 8.19% at yesterday's auction, while the 91- and 182-day rates moved to 7.55% and 7.95%; the auction was undersubscribed at 54.97% (Rs.82.45bn of Rs.150bn). Secondary bond trading tapered off, net liquidity surplus rose to Rs.92.22bn and USD/LKR closed at 309.65/309.75.

IMF cut Sri Lanka's projected Net International Reserves for end‑2025 to about US$2,159m (a US$666m rise from 2024) from a prior projection of US$2,729m; the end‑December IMF program target is US$448m. The downgrade reflects risks from rate cuts, strong private credit, rupee pressure and cyclone-related outflows.

Gold rose to a record above US$4,500/oz, trading around $4,486.55 spot and $4,519.20 futures, as Venezuela tensions and expectations of US rate cuts drove safe-haven demand; silver and platinum also hit record highs.

Gold and silver prices surged after the US Federal Reserve cut rates and halted quantity tightening: gold around $4,475/oz, silver about $72/oz, and copper up roughly 10% to $5.58/lb.

Colombo Stock Exchange closed 0.15% higher as the ASPI rose 32.05 points to 21,959.05, led by gains in selected banking, construction and retail stocks. Top contributors included Senkadagala Finance, Sampath Bank, Bukit Darah, Royal Ceramics and Tokyo Cement; turnover rose to Rs 4.1bn with a Rs 331mn net foreign outflow.

Sri Lanka Treasury bill yields rose at Tuesday's auction, with the 12-month yield up 16 basis points to 8.19%. The debt office offered 150 billion rupees and raised 82.4 billion; 3-month and 6-month yields climbed to 7.55% and 7.95% respectively, with sales below offers.

Sri Lanka's rupee closed weaker at 309.65/75 per US dollar (from 309.50/65) and government bond yields rose, with the 15.12.2028 issue at 9.20/30% (from 9.05/15%). Other maturities including 2029, 2032 and 2033 also recorded increases.

Sri Lanka's rupee opened weaker at 309.60/85 per USD and local government bond yields edged up on shorter tenors (e.g., the 15.12.2029 bond quoted ~9.60–9.68%). A Rs 150,000 million Treasury bill auction was ongoing.

121 leading economists called for the immediate suspension of Sri Lanka’s external sovereign debt payments, saying the IMF-backed 48-month restructuring offers limited debt-service relief. They urged a new framework treating climate disasters as systemic shocks and significant debt cancellation to enable recovery and reconstruction.

IMF warns Cyclone Ditwah could destroy 2.5–5% of GDP, widen the balance-of-payments gap by about $700m and push average inflation to 5.4% in 2026, above the CBSL 5% limit. Agriculture and tourism are hardest hit while reconstruction may support construction but raises external and debt risks.

Treasury told parliament excess domestic borrowings of about Rs1.2 trillion cost roughly 2% to maintain as a cash buffer. The excess is held in state banks (c. Rs1tn by year-end), raising interbank liquidity risks and crowding out private credit; Rs500bn earmarked for hurricane relief.

The weekly Treasury Bill auction offers Rs.150.00 billion (Rs.35bn 91-day, Rs.70bn 182-day, Rs.45bn 364-day), the largest in 28 weeks and well above estimated maturities of ~Rs.95bn. NCPI fell to 2.4% in November; secondary bond yields were ~9.55–10.30%; liquidity surplus rose to Rs.88.40bn and USD/LKR closed near 309.6.

Bank of Ceylon said its Rs.20 billion Tier-2 debenture issue was oversubscribed and closed; the offer comprised 200 million Rs.100 notes in three tranches: Type A 5-year fixed 10.50% p.a., Type B 5-year AWPLR+2% (biannual), and Type C 8-year AWPLR+2.5% (biannual).

Sri Lanka's rupee closed at 309.50/65 to the US dollar, largely unchanged from Friday, while short-term government bond yields adjusted slightly. The rupee has fallen from about 292 in Dec 2024 amid central bank interventions; yields ranged roughly 8.30%–10.70%.

Sri Lanka's NCPI inflation fell to 2.4% in November 2025 from 2.7% in October 2025. Food inflation eased to 3.6% (from 4.1%), non-food inflation remained at 1.5%, and the NCPI index was 207.2, down 0.3 points month-on-month.

IMF approved $206 million in Rapid Financing Instrument support for Sri Lanka at an interest rate of about 3.27%–3.28%. The CBSL has instructed licensed banks to grant 3–6 month loan repayment extensions and issue low‑interest concessional loans to distressed businesses.

Dr. Nishan de Mel urged Sri Lanka to reject the IMF's proposed $206 million RFI, warning the effective cost could exceed 6% in USD terms and 11% in rupee terms, and urged cheaper domestic borrowing, grants or ESG/ISB alternatives for cyclone recovery.

Sri Lanka's secondary bond market saw a midweek rally led by short-term maturities but finished broadly unchanged week-on-week; 91/182/364-day T-Bill rates held at 7.51%, 7.91% and 8.03%. Sentiment was supported by confirmed $120m World Bank emergency financing and a $200m ADB loan, while USD/LKR closed near 309.5.

Sri Lanka's rupee opened slightly weaker at 309.55/65 per USD vs 309.50/60 on Friday, while local government bond yields were broadly steady — e.g. the 15.10.2029 at ~9.49–9.55% and other maturities quoted around 9.55–10.40%.

Spot gold climbed to a record $4,383.73/oz on Monday as investors priced in further US Fed rate cuts and sought safe-haven assets, leaving gold up 67% year-to-date aided by a softer dollar and central bank buying.

Sampath Bank PLC signed an MoU with Toyota Lanka to offer Toyota buyers a 0.5% p.a. reduction on published leasing rates and complementary benefits including free vehicle registration, three complimentary services, a 3-year/100,000 km warranty, 0% short-term insurance loans, and a no-joining-fee credit card with a 0% 12-month insurance payment plan.

People's Bank's Kalpitiya branch made the first disbursement under a government-backed Disaster Relief Fund working-capital loan scheme—up to Rs.1 million at a concessional 3% rate—to help an MSME resume operations after Cyclone Ditwah.