Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Departures Hit Record in 2024

Inflation in the United States was 2.3 percent in the 12-months to April 2025, with the index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rising 2 percent during the month, the Bureau of Labour Statistics said.

Food was down 0.1 percent (up 2.8-pct over 12 months), energy commodities were down 0.2 percent (down 11.5 percent over 12-months) but energy services and electricity were up.

New vehicles were flat and used cars and trucks were down 0.5 percent.

Apparel was also down 0.5 percent, after falling 0.7 percent in March.

Shelter and medical care continued to go up.

All items less food and energy (a measure of core inflation) which macro-economists usually use to avoid rate cuts and continue money printing in firing a credit cycle, was up 0.2 percent in April and was up 2.8 percent over 12-momth months.

The countries operate currency board like regimes, where macro-economics cannot cut rates arbitrarily and drive credit cycles, leading to monetary stability long germ investment and a demand for imported labour.

Some of the monetary authorities in recent years have seen the introduction of greater central bank like powers through ‘monetary policy modernization’ which can lead to instability social unrest and political instability like other oil-rich Middle Eastern states, if currencies collapse, analysts say.

Other top sources of remittances were from countries with 2 percent inflation targets.

Remittances from the United States in the fourth quarter of 2024 were 123.5 million dollars and South Korea, and the UK 105.2 million dollars.

US and UK numbers came partly from various remittances platforms where money from third countries were channeled, the central bank said.

Remittances from Italy were 97.6 million dollars and the Maldives 49.9 million dollars. (Colombo/May11/2025)

Source:
https://economynext.com