Sri Lanka might face scarcity of gasoline by third week of January: Energy Minister

Sri Lanka might face scarcity of gasoline by the third week of January, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila warned on Friday, as he urged the Central Bank to step in and pump in international forex required for imports.
Gammanpila’s grim warning comes shut on the heels of the Ceylon Electricity Board issuing an announcement, asking residents to brace for energy cuts within the days to come back as a result of its incapacity to buy gasoline.
The Sri Lankan authorities on Tuesday had introduced a USD 1.2 billion financial reduction package deal amidst a extreme international trade disaster grappling the island nation.
At the start of December final 12 months, the foreign exchange reserves had been adequate for only a month of imports.
However, final week, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka introduced that the nation’s international trade reserves had doubled within the span of only one month, and touched USD 3.1 billion.
According to sources, the foreign exchange reserve increase was buoyed by a ten billion-yuan (USD 1.6 billion) forex swap settlement signed with China on March 21 this 12 months.
“There is this looming danger which I have informed the Cabinet no less than on 8 occasions. The Central Bank has to ensure Letters of Credit can be opened for cooking gas and fuel. We could substitute imported food with some local varieties, but for fuel it is not possible,” Gammanpila mentioned.
The Energy Minister’s feedback come hours after the Sri Lankan authorities had signed an settlement with India collectively redevelop the strategic World War II-era oil tank farm within the island nation’s jap port district of Trincomalee, in a brand new milestone in bilateral financial and power partnership.
The extreme international forex scarcity and a credit standing downgrade by Fitch had compelled the nation’s solely 50,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery to close down from January 3.