Foreign currency inflows to the current account as well as the financial account of the Balance of Payments (BOP) contributed for the resilience in the external sector amidst a marginal increase in the trade deficit. In January 2015, the BOP is estimated to have recorded a deficit of US dollars 696.5 million, compared to the surplus of US dollars 732.9 million in the corresponding period of 2014. 

 

 

The trade deficit in January 2015 widened to US dollars 772 million in comparison to US dollars 752 million in January 2014. The external sector is projected to strengthen further during the year with the expected reduction in expenditure on imports, higher inflows on account of tourism and worker’s remittances as well as receipts to the government, the banking sector and other private corporates.

 

 

Expenditure on imports increased marginally by 1.6 per cent, year-on-year, to US dollars 1,682 million in January 2015, reflecting increases in consumer and investment good imports. The major contribution to the increase in imports came from consumer goods mainly due to higher imports of rice and personal motor vehicles. Continuing the increasing trend observed since April 2014, the expenditure on rice imports increased to US dollars 55 million in January 2015 in comparison to US dollars 1.6 million in the corresponding month of 2014 due to lower domestic production

 

 

Tourist arrivals grew at a healthy rate of 6.6 per cent, year-on-year, to 156,246 in January 2015 from 146,575 in January 2014. India, UK, China, Germany and Russia were the top five sources of tourist arrivals accounting for 43.3 per cent of total arrivals in January 2015. Earnings from tourism1 are estimated to have increased by 6.6 per cent to US dollars 248.7 million in January 2015 from US dollars 233.3 million in January 2014.