Higher oil prices push Sri Lanka into deeper economic crisis
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s already dire economic crisis has deepened as oil prices hover near USD 110 a barrel. Vehicles are stranded with empty tanks, power cuts are depriving students of study time for exams and shopping mall air conditioners are being switched off to conserve energy.
The South Asian island nation already was so short of hard currency that authorities had restricted imports of cars and fertilizer. It’s now having to scrape into dwindling reserves to pay for ever more costly oil needed to keep the economy running.
