Sri Lanka’s Depreciating Rupee: Avoiding a Money-Go-Round

The Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) has depreciated by 10% in nominal terms by end September 2018, posing significant economy-wide risks in view of a hefty total external debt stock at 60% of GDP at end 2017. In this context, the author argues that the Sri Lankan economy is set to face testing times; dollar revenues need to be generated to match dollar-denominated debt service as never before.