Foreign investors divested approximately 3.1 million USD worth of Sri Lankan government securities in the week ending January 14, following a modest buying trend in the preceding week, according to data from the Central Bank.

This marks the sixth instance in the past 20 weeks where foreign investors have sold rupee bonds, resulting in a decline from a nearly 26-month high in foreign holdings of government securities.

During the specified week, foreign investors sold a net 948 million rupees (equivalent to 3.10 million USD at an exchange rate of 1 USD = 305 rupees). In contrast, the previous week saw a net purchase of rupee bonds amounting to 57 million rupees, as indicated by the data.

In 2025, Sri Lanka experienced a total inflow of approximately 71.5 billion rupees (around 234.4 million USD) into rupee bonds, further data revealed.

Following the tariff declaration by Donald Trump in the first week of April last year, Sri Lanka faced an outflow of 10.1 billion rupees (32 million USD) over two weeks, which corresponded with a slight depreciation of the rupee.

Analysts have attributed these inflows to Sri Lanka’s deflationary policies, which have been effective in attracting foreign investment while curbing imports.

In 2024, the country experienced foreign outflows totaling 48.2 billion rupees, with 66 percent, or 78.1 billion rupees, of this outflow occurring in the government securities sector during the first nine months of the year.

(Colombo/January 19/2026)