Middle East war pushes CPC oil bill past US$1bn

By Kelum Bandara  

The Middle East war has taken its toll on Sri Lanka, with the oil import bill of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) exceeding US$ 1 billion during the first four months of this year, whereas it stood at only US$ 1.5 billion for the whole of 2025, an official said.   
This transpired at a meeting of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) last week, chaired by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader MP Rauff Hakeem.   
In response to questions regarding the future outlook of the Sri Lankan economy under the current circumstances, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said the fuel import bill of the CPC alone had reached that level.   
“This is in addition to the two other suppliers,” he said.   
Mr. Hakeem asked about the measures to deal with the fallout of the Middle East war at a time when even India had taken a host of fuel-saving steps.   
The Governor acknowledged this and said India had resorted to such measures despite having gross reserves exceeding US$ 700 billion.   
However, he said his office had made projections about the economic outlook based on the assumption that the situation would dissipate within three months.