Sri Lankan government on Monday admitted that it has run out of cash to purchase fuel as pumps in most filling stations over the nation have run dry.
Worsening the extending foreign-exchange crisis that has disabled the island nation’s economy.
An economic crisis uncommon within the country’s history since independence in 1948 has driven to a basic deficiency of foreign exchange, that saw it miss two coupon installments on sovereign bonds on April 18.
Sri Lanka has as of now said:
It is incapable to create the coupon installments, and a 30-day grace period closes on Wednesday.
S&P has said the appraisals on the bonds, maturing in 2023 and 2028, have as of now been cut to ‘default’ and the country’s generally rating can be encourage cut to ‘D’ on affirmation of the non-payment after the grace period closes.
Sri Lanka right now has no dollars to pay for petrol shipments, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told parliament, engaging to individuals to stop queuing for the following two days.
A petrol shipment has been at Colombo port since 28 Walk but the government has been incapable pay, he included.
“There aren’t enough dollars available to open letters of credit,” he said.
“We are working to find funds but petrol will not be available at least until the weekend.
The very small reserve stock of petrol is being released for essential services like ambulances,” he said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday the nation had secured $160 million in bridge financing from the World Bank, but it was not clear in the event that the stores can be utilized for fuel installments.
“The statistics have gone haywire,” he said. “But the reality is we don’t even have $1 million.”
Hit difficult by the pandemic, rising oil costs and populist tax cuts, Sri Lanka’s desperate economic circumstance has driven to spiraling inflation and deficiencies of basic supplies, bringing thousands of onto the boulevards in protest.
Violence between pro- and anti-government groups and police cleared out nine dead and more than 300 harmed final weeks, and was taken after by the resignation of previous prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.