2025.08.2909:59:05UTC+00Sri Lanka Consumer Prices Rise for First Time in 12 Months

In August 2025, consumer prices in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, registered a year-on-year increase of 1.2%, marking the end of an eleven-month streak of deflation and counteracting a 0.3% decrease observed in July. This rise was primarily fueled by accelerated price growth across various categories: food and non-alcoholic beverages saw an increase of 2.0%, up from 1.5%; clothing and footwear rose to 4.5% from 4.3%; alcoholic beverages and tobacco climbed to 4.4% from 3.8%; recreation and culture surged to 1.9% from 1.3%; and education experienced growth to 5.7% from 5.3%. Notably, prices in housing and utilities rebounded by moving from a -4.8% decrease to a 0.5% increase, and the rate of decline in transportation prices lessened from -3.3% to -2.6%. In contrast, there was a deceleration in price growth for miscellaneous goods and services, which rose by 1.1% compared to the previous 3.7%. On a monthly comparison, consumer prices saw a decline of 0.4% in August, following a 0.2% drop in July.