Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated yesterday that due to excessive inflation, we will have to completely stop printing money by next year.
Speaking to Editors and News Editors at the Prime Minister’s Office, he stated that the country was facing an unprecedented economic crisis, similar to what was experienced in the late 1800s due to the collapse of the coffee plantations. He stated that it was only felt in the main cities of Colombo, Galle, and Kandy at the time because the majority of the population lived in rural areas. He did, however, state that the current crisis is felt equally across the country.
He stated that we must find solutions and come out of it ourselves because no one else will be able to do so. He also stated that there is a global fuel crisis because European countries are buying primarily from the Middle Eastern petroleum market as a result of the issues surrounding Russian oil supplies to Europe as a result of the Ukraine war.
He claimed that the Indians told him that “even if there were Dollars, you wouldn’t be able to buy fuel,” and that the global petroleum market has become a “sellers’ market, not a buyers’ market.”
He stated that confidence in the economy must be gradually built in order for more Dollar inflows to occur.
