Business

Daily News

Monday 20, March 2000

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Last update :  16.03.2000

The information contained in this issue is based on the Central Bank's own computations and data supplied by other institutions.

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Exchange rates

				Week	   Week	    Year
				ending	   ago	    ago
				Mar. 16		
Commercial Bank middle rate			
- US$				73.52	   73.48    69.47
- STG				115.66	   116.22   112.57
- DM				36.04	   36.29    38.50
- FFr				10.74	   10.82    11.48
- Yen				0.70	   0.69	    0.59
- Euro				70.48	   70.99    75.31
- SDR (As at 15, Mar. 2000)	98.14	   98.04    94.24
Central Bank			
- US$ - Buying rate		72.29	   72.30    68.37
- US$ - Selling rate		73.76	   73.76    69.76
Central Bank purchases			
and sales of foreign			
exchange from			
Commercial Bank			
(US$ Mn.) - total for week			
- Purchases			-	     -	      -
- Sales				-	     -	      -
Forward Rates (US$)			
- 1 month			74.03	   73.94    70.14
- 3 months			74.78	   74.74    71.10
(Weekly average based			
on actual			
transactions)			
Average daily inter-bank			
turnover (US $ Mn.)		8.30	   9.40	    6.55
In nominal terms, the Rupee appreciated against the US$, Yen and SDR while appreciated against the STG, DM, FFr and Euro.

				Week	   Week	    Year
				ending	   ago	    ago
				Mar. 15		

Inter-Bank Call Money			
turnover (a)			5,524	   4,819    3,597
Central Bank Secondary			
Window (a)			
Treasury Bills			
- Repo				876	   57	    644
- Outright sales		10	   0	    17
- Outright purchases	 	0	   0	    0
- Reverse Repo			0	   170	    32
Treasury bonds			
- Repo				-	   -	    -
- Outright sales		-	   -	    -
- Outright purchases		-	   -	    -
Reverse Repo			0	   569	    0
Central Bank holdings
- Treasury Bills		17,844	   17,899   7,885
- Treasury Bonds		0	   519	    0
(a) Daily average for week.

Bond series	Maturity   Maturity	Average	Yield**	Average	Yield**
		period	   D/M/Y	buying		selling	
		(Years)					price*	
11.00% 2000 D	  2	   01.04.2000	99.75	13.56	99.80	12.95
11.00% 2000 E	  2	   01.05.2000	99.70	12.43	99.81	11.76
11.00% 2000 F	  2	   01.06.2000	99.62	12.25	99.69	11.96
11.00% 2000 G	  2	   01.07.2000	99.52	12.28	99.59	12.07
11.00% 2000 H	  2	   01.08.2000	99.36	12.51	99.45	12.28
11.00% 2000 J	  2	   01.09.2000	99.26	12.58	99.43	12.21
11.00% 2000 K	  2	   01.10.2000	99.32	12.21	99.43	12.01
11.00% 2000 L	  2	   01.12.2000	98.93	12.49	99.37	11.85
11.00% 2001 A	  2	   01.05.2001	98.06	12.81	98.29	12.59
11.00% 2001 B	  2	   15.07.2001	97.72	12.84	98.00	12.61
11.00% 2001 C	  2	   01.09.2001	97.81	12.65	98.06	12.46
11.00% 2001 D	  2	   01.12.2001	97.47	12.63	97.64	12.52
10.75% 2002 A	  2	   01.01.2002	97.63	12.21	97.77	12.12
						
12.00% 2000 A	  3	   01.10.2000	99.63	12.64	99.82	12.29
11.75% 2000 A	  3	   15.10.2000	99.63	12.34	99.78	12.08
11.50% 2001 C	  3	   01.05.2001	99.03	12.39	99.25	12.18
11.50% 2001 D	  3	   01.07.2001	98.93	12.36	99.18	12.15
11.50% 2001 E	  3	   01.10.2001	98.67	12.44	98.91	12.26
11.50% 2001 F	  3	   01.12.2001	98.85	12.22	98.97	12.14
11.25% 2002 A	  3	   01.01.2002	97.88	12.56	98.17	12.37
11.25% 2002 B	  3	   01.03.2002	97.67	11.61	98.00	12.41
11.25% 2002 C	  3	   01.05.2002	97.04	12.84	97.39	12.65
11.25% 2002 D	  3	   01.07.2002	97.44	12.53	97.88	12.31
11.25% 2002 E	  3	   01.08.2002	96.10	12.67	97.46	12.49
11.25% 2002 F	  3	   01.09.2002	96.94	12.72	97.30	12.54
11.00% 2003 A	  3	   01.01.2003	97.43	12.52	96.94	12.30
						
12.25% 2001 A	  4	   15.05.2001	99.17	12.98	99.45	12.72
11.50% 2001 A	  4	   01.11.2001	98.75	12.33	99.07	12.11
11.50% 2001 B	  4	   15.11.2001	98.60	12.41	98.96	12.17
12.00% 2002 A	  4	   01.07.2002	98.55	12.72	99.09	12.44
12.00% 2002 B	  4	   01.10.2002	98.25	12.81	99.15	12.38
11.50% 2003 A	  4	   01.01.2003	96.64	12.94	97.35	12.63
11.50% 2003 B	  4	   01.03.2003	96.84	12.80	97.44	12.55
11.50% 2003 C	  4	   01.06.2003	96.52	12.83	96.98	12.65
11.50% 2003 D	  4	   01.07.2003	96.52	12.80	97.12	12.57
11.50% 2003 E	  4	   01.09.2003	96.18	12.89	96.84	12.65
11.25% 2004 A	  4	   01.01.2004	95.61	12.72	96.11	12.55
						
11.75% 2004 A	  5	   01.03.2004	96.08	13.04	96.82	12.79
11.75% 2004 B	  5	   01.09.2004	95.67	13.05	97.01	12.64
11.50% 2005 A	  5	   01.01.2005	94.24	13.14	97.89	12.94
						
12.00% 2005 A	  6	   01.09.2005	97.41	12.67	97.71	12.59 
11.75% 2006 A	  6	   01.01.2006	94.93	13.01	95.21	12.93
* Per Rs. 100
** Yield to maturity % per annum
This report is based on two-way quotes submitted by seventeen primary dealers

			Week	Week	month	Year
			ending	ago	ago	ago
			Mar.16			
Rice (Rs/Kg)				
- Samba			30.00	30.80	32.10	36.35
- Kekulu		28.00	28.80	28.17	29.45
Vegetables (Rs./Kg)				
- Pumpkins		20.00	20.00	23.84	23.40
- Ash-plantains		36.00	36.00	39.20	40.00
- Snake gourd		28.00	29.60	25.38	25.60
- Beans			56.00	50.00	43.64	38.85
- Carrots		48.00	41.60	40.19	47.70
- Tomatoes		60.00	41.00	39.62	50.70
Other foods (Rs./Kg)				
- Red-onions		50.00	50.20	56.60	55.10
- Big-onions		30.00	25.40	44.21	42.05
- Potatoes		34.00	32.40	45.38	36.95
- Dried chillies	110.00	106.00	131.91	125.25
- Eggs			4.20	4.12	3.51	2.95
Fish (Rs/Kg)
- Balaya		70.00	80.00	82.51	92.50
- Salaya		30.00	23.00	45.50	45.25
- Paraw			160.00	174.00	185.88	160.00
- Kelawalla		150.00	162.00	142.32	138.50

			Week	Week	month	Year
			ending	ago	ago	ago
			Mar. 16			

Rice (Rs/Kg)				
- Samba			26.50	26.50	26.50	30.77
- Kekulu		23.50	23.50	23.50	24.50
Vegetables (Rs./Kg)				
- Pumpkins		4.50	4.50	7.50	11.00
- Ash-plantains		22.50	22.50	22.50	20.00
- Snake gourd		20.00	15.50	19.00	14.00
- Beans	37.50		37.50	37.50	19.00
- Carrots		32.50	32.50	32.50	27.50
- Tomatoes		40.00	27.50	11.00	37.50
Other foods (Rs./Kg)				
- Red-onions		32.50	30.00	36.00	40.00
- Big-onions		19.50	19.00	15.00	33.00
- Potatoes		25.00	23.50	27.50	29.00
- Dried chillies	89.00	75.00	83.50	99.00
- Eggs			4.10	4.10	4.10	2.80
Fish (Rs/Kg)
- Balaya		60.00	60.00	75.00	60.00
- Salaya		22.50	11.00	15.00	27.50
- Paraw			105.00	105.00	120.00	100.00
- Kelawalla		90.00	90.00	105.00	100.00

During the week wholesale prices of rice were unchanged.  Prices of snake gourd and tomatoes increased due to a drop in supply. Prices of onions, potatoes and dried chillies increased due to decreased supply in the market.  Prices of fresh fish except salaya were unchanged.			  

				Week	Week	Year
				ending	ago	ago
				Mar. 16		
Commercial Bank Prime			
Lending Weekly			
average (PLR)			14.36	15.10	15.2
Treasury Bill Yield (TBR)		
-  3 months (91 days)		11.41	11.39	11.71
- 12 months (364 days)		12.01	11.99	12.49
Central Bank overnight			
repurchase rate (Repo)(1)	9.00	9.00	11.00
Central Bank overnight
reverse repurchase			
rate (1)			13.30	13.30	14.54
Call Money Weekly			
Average (CMR)			11.06	12.75	12.69
Sri Lanka inter-bank offer			
Rate (SLIBOR) (1)
- 1 day				12.48	12.98	-
- 7 days			12.50	13.04	-
- 1 month			12.65	13.00	-
				Feb.	   Month	Year
				2000	   ago		ago
Savings deposits -			
Commercial Banks		2.0-10.0   2.0-10.0	2.0-10.0
One year fixed deposits		9.0-12.5   9.0-12.5	9.0-12.5
Commercial Bank Average			
Weighted Deposits (AWDR)	9.06	   9.09	        9.2
Commercial Bank Average
Weighted Fixed Deposits			
(AWFDR)				10.80	   10.80	10.7
Savings deposits - NSB		8.4	   9.2	        9.6
One year fixed deposits -			
NSB				10.5	   11.5	        11.5
Treasury Bonds auction				Previous
				(6Y)		(6Y)
				Mar. 14 	Feb. 24
Coupon rate			11.75		11.75
Weighted Average Yield		12.73		12.90 	
				Current		Rate on
				rate		Mar. 10
				Mar. 16		
Central Bank Securities			
(7 days) Interest Rate		9.16		9.16
Treasury Bill rates increased.  Call money rates stabilised within the 9.50 to 13.25 per cent during the week.
(1) As at last working day of the week.                    

			1999*	1998	1997
			to Dec.	


Total issues (Rs. bn)	16.2	16.5	11.1
Outstanding (at the end			
of the period) (Rs. bn) 4.3	4.3	3.5
* Provisional

(1) Based on the information provided by Commercial Banks 
and Merchant Banks.

				
Feb.	Month	Year
				2000	ago	 ago

Colombo district			
consumers’ price
index (CDCPI)			
(Oct. 1996-Sep 1997=100)	113.6	113.1	115.6
Annual average change %		2.5	3.1	6.3
Point to point change %		-1.7	-2.2	5.4
				Dec.99	Month	Year
					ago	ago

Wholesale price			
index (WPI)			
(1974 = 100)			1308.1	1305.5	1314.7
Annual average change %		-0.5	-0.1	6.1
Colombo Consumers’		Feb.	Month	Year
Price Index (CCPI)		2000	ago	ago
(1952 = 100)			2437.7	2408.1	2391.3
Annual average change %		4.1	4.4	8.0
Point to point change %		1.9	0.3	5.0

				Jan.	Month	Year
				2000	ago	ago
Greater Colombo			
Consumers’ Price			
Index (GCPI)			
(Jan-June 1989 = 100)		244.8	245.5	251.1
Annual average change%		3.2	3.8	6.3

The annual average change of the CDCPI computed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was 2.5 per cet in February 2000.  The WPI showed an annual average change of -0.5 per cent in December, 1999.  The rate of inflation as indicated by the CCPI was 4.1 per cent in February 2000.  In the food category, prices increased by 0.4 per cent.  Prices of rice and curry, condensed milk, milk tea, cummin seed, some varieties of vegetables and fresh fish, red onions and kerosene oil increased during the month, while prices of rice, dried chillies, pepper, some varieties of fresh fish limes, coconut oil and potatoes decreased.

		       1999 (a)    1998	   	1999	     1999
			Jan-Nov	   Jan-Nov	revised	     original
			                        estimates    estimates

Revenue (Rs. bn)	 174.9	   153.3	201.40	     214.30
Expenditure & lending				
minus repayments				
(Rs. bn)		 253.1	   237.3	290.20	     283.30
Current			 190.6	   181.2	205.10	     199.20
Capital & lending				
minus repayments	  62.5	   56.1	        85.10	     84.10
(Government finance data are according to the economic
classification)
(a) Provisional
Total revenue increased by 14.1 per cent over the period.

					2000*		1999		%
					Jan.		Jan.		change
Export			Rs. Mn		27,527.2	22,996.2	19.7
- Agricultural		Rs. Mn		5,223.5		4,345.8		20.2
- Industrial		Rs. Mn		21,299.7	17,554.7	21.3
- Mineral		Rs. Mn		783.2		561.1		39.6
- Others		Rs. Mn		220.7		534.6		-58.7
Imports			Rs. Mn		42,102.9	29,164.8	44.4
- Consumer goods	Rs. Mn		6,152.9		6,280.0		-2.0
- Intermediate goods	Rs. Mn		20,649.2	14,464.4	42.8
- Investment goods	Rs. Mn		14,383.3	7,785.1		84.8
- Other			Rs. Mn		917.4	6	35.3		44.4
Trade balance		Rs. Mn		-14,575.7	-6,168.6	-136.3
				
Exports (in				
US terms)		US$ Mn		380.9		338.4		12.6
- Agricultural		US$ Mn		72.2		64.0		12.8
- Industrial		US$ Mn		294.4		258.4		13.9
- Mineral		US$ Mn		10.8		8.3		30.1
- Other			US$ Mn		3.1		7.9		-60.8
Imports			US$ Mn		581.9		429.2		35.6
- Consumer goods	US$ Mn		85.0		92.4		-8.0
- Intermediate goods	US$ Mn		285.4		212.9		34.1
- Investment goods	US$ Mn		198.8		114.6		73.5
- Others		US$ Mn		12.7		9.3		36.6
Trade balance		US$ Mn		-201.4		-90.8		-121.8
* Provisional

Export earnings recorded an increase of 12.6 per cent in US$ terms, reflecting increase in industrial agricultural and mineral exports.  The increase in imports is reflected in intermediate, investment and other categories of imports.

			2000	Month	Year
			Jan.	ago	ago
Total exports			
- Value			98.2	114.9	87.4
- Quantity		106.8	125.3	93.0
- Unit value		92.0	91.7	93.9
Total imports			
- Value			98.8	105.0	87.8
- Quantity		98.6	115.2	103.9
- Unit Value		100.2	91.2	84.5
Terms of trade		91.8	100.6	111.2
** In US$ terms

				2000*	 1999	  %
				Jan	 Jan	  change

Tourist arrivals (‘000)		43.3	 44.4	  -2.5
Earnings from tourism	US$ Mn	27.2	 27.9	  -2.5
			Rs. Mn	1,969.0	 1,894.6  3.9
* Provisional

Tourist arrivals dropped by 2.5 per cent.

				2000*	   1999		%
				Jan.	   Jan.		change

Total industrial				
exports			Rs. Mn	21,299.7   17,554.7	21.3
- Food, beverages and				
Tobacco			Rs. Mn	778.9	   333.7	133.4
- Textiles and apparel	Rs. Mn.	15,157.3   12,738.9	19.0
- Petroleum products	Rs. Mn	620.6	   230.5	169.2
- Leather, rubber etc.	Rs. Mn	2,292.6	   2,095.6	9.4
- Other			Rs. Mn	2,450.3	   2,156.0	13.7

Total industrial				
exports			US$ Mn	294.4	   258.4	13.9
- Food, beverages and				
Tobacco			US$ Mn	10.8	   4.9		120.4
- Textiles and apparel	US$ Mn	209.5	   187.5	11.7
- Petroleum products	US$ Mn	8.6	   3.4		152.9
- Leather, rubber etc.	US$ Mn	31.7	   30.8	 	2.9
- Other			US$ Mn	33.8	   31.8		6.3
* Provisional

Industrial exports increased by 13.9 per cent in US$ terms mainly due to increases in earnings from food, beverages & tobacco, textiles & apparel, petroleum products and leather & rubber products categories.

				1999(a)	   Month     Year
				End Dec.   ago	     ago

M1 (Rs. bn)			108.6	   103.7     96.3
M2 (Rs. bn)			358.1	   350.0     316.2
M2b (Rs. bn)			428.3	   419.3     377.7
Net foreign assets of			
the banking system			
(Rs. bn) (b)			102.1	   101.9     105.6	
Net domestic assets of the			
banking system (Rs. bn) (b)	326.2	   317.4     272.1
- Net credit to government			
(Rs. bn)			93.9	   86.6	     64.6
- Credit to corporations			
(Rs. bn)			13.4	   10.5	     10.8
- Credit to the private			
sector (Rs. bn)			325.6	   325.0     294.1
Reserve money (Rs. bn)		100.4	   94.8	     92.9
Annual change (%)		
M1				12.8	   11.6	     12.1
M2				13.3	   14.2	     9.7
M2b				13.4	   14.5	     13.2
Net foreign assets of the			
banking system (b)		-3.4	   0.8	     16.7
Net domestic assets of			
the banking system (b)		19.9	   19.7	     11.9
- Net credit to			
government			45.3	   45.6	     42.8
- Credit to corporations	23.5	   8.9	     -26.1
- Credit to the private			
sector				10.7	   11.9	     11.8
Reserve money			8.2	   6.2	     10.9
(a) Provisional
(b) In relationto M2b

			1999*	   1998		%
			Dec.	   Dec.		change
Central Government			
Employees			
(1978 = 100)		1,001.4	   1,001.4	0.0
Workers in wages boards	977.6	   977.4	0.0
- Agriculture		1,116.0	   1,115.9	0.0
- Industry & Commerce	829.4	   828.3	0.1
- Services		559.7	   559.7	0.0
* Provisional

Nominal wages of workers in Wages Boards have increased marginally.

				2000*		1999		%
				end Jan.	end Dec.	change

External Assets				
Total reserves(a)  US$ Mn	2,540		2,582		-1.6
		   Rs. Mn	184,312		185,959		-0.9
				2000*		1999		%	
				Mar. 03		End Dec.	Change
Gross official				
reserves	   US$ Mn	1,643		1,639		0.2
		   Rs. Mn	119,818		118,013		1.5
				1999*		1998		%
				Jan-Nov		Jan-Nov		change
Private remittances				
- Inflows	   US$ Mn	967		923		4.8
		   Rs. Mn	67,958		59,454		14.3

- Outflows	   US$ Mn	149		139		7.2
		   Rs. Mn	10,494		8,931		17.5
- Net		   US$ Mn	818		784		4.3
		   Rs. Mn	57,464		50,522		13.7
* Provisional

(a) In the presentation of BOP data, FCBUs have been treated as part of the domestic banking system.  The total level of foreign reserves was sufficient to finance 4.6 months of projected imports (without Air Crafts) for 2000.

			  2000	    1999	%
			  Jan.	    Jan.	change
Exports (Colombo				
auction price)			
- Tea		Rs./Kg	 132.89	    122.30	8.66
				
Imports (C & F)				
- Rice		Rs./Mt	 16,729.45  14,665.00	14.08
- White sugar	Rs./Mt	 14,498.06  17,937.12	-19.17
- Crude Oil	Rs./Barr.1,880.20   731.91	156.89
- Wheat		Rs./Mt	 9,651.00   9,547.96	1.08
Exports (Colombo				
Auction Price)
- Tea		US$/Kg	 1.84	    1.80	2.22
Imports (C & F)				
- Rice		US$/Mt	 231.20	    215.83	7.12
- White sugar	US$/Mt	 200.36	    263.98	-24.10
- Crude Oil	US$/Barr.25.98	    10.77	141.23
- Wheat		US$/Mt	 133.38	    140.52	-5.08

The information contained in this issue is based on the Central Bank’s own computations and data supplied by other institutions.

			     	End Nov	Month	year
			     	1999(a)	ago	ago

Domestic Debt	  Rs. bn	536.5	529.0	446.3
By maturity				
- Short term	  Rs. bn	178.6	174.4	149.8
- Medium &				
long-term	  Rs. bn	357.9	354.6	296.5
By institution				
- Non-bank	  Rs. bn	401.4	399.3	344.2
- Bank		  Rs. bn	135.1	129.7	102.1
Foreign Debt 	  Rs. bn	501.6	500.3	445.9
- Concessional	  Rs. bn	491.3	489.9	431.0
- Multilateral	  Rs. bn	225.8	225.7	205.1
- of which; IDA	  Rs. bn	118.1	118.4	109.3
- ADB		  Rs. bn	101.9	102.3	90.6
- Bilateral	  Rs. bn	265.5	264.2	225.9
- of which; Japan Rs. bn	161.5	160.7	124.7
- Non-concessionalRs. bn	10.3	10.4	14.9
Total Debt	  Rs. bn	1,038.1	1,029.3	892.2
Foreign Debt	  US$ bn	7.0	7.0	6.6
Concessional	  US$ bn	6.8	6.8	6.4
Multilateral	  US$ bn	3.1	3.2	3.0
of which; IDA	  US$ bn	1.6	1.7	1.6
ADB		  US$ bn	1.4	1.4	1.3
Bilateral	  US$ bn 	3.7	3.7	3.4
of which; Japan	  US$ bn	2.2	2.2	1.9
Non Concessional  US$ bn	0.1	0.1	0.2

(a) Provisional
The total outstanding public debt increased by 16.4 per cent compared to the end of November 1998.