‘Too early to assess Lanka economic damage’

COLOMBO, May 19 (Reuters): The International Monetary Fund said it was holding its forecast for Sri Lanka's 2019 economic growth at 3.5 per cent in spite of devastating Easter bombings, saying it was too early to assess financial damage.

The April 21 bombings, which killed more than 250 people in churches and hotels and were claimed by Islamic State, have scared tourists away and soured business sentiment on the island.

Sri Lanka's economy, which depends on tourism, garment manufacturing, tea exports and remittances, was already at a low point before the bombings.

The economy grew 3.2 per cent last year, the weakest in 17 years, as a weeks-long political crisis and monetary policy tightenings sapped business confidence and cooled investment.

A Reuters poll of 10 analysts predicted last week that growth could slide to just 2.5 per cent this year following the attacks.

But the IMF said it was maintaining its growth projection due a lack of new official data and clear information to assess the impact on growth of the Easter bombings.

"It will be speculative for us to revise our growth projection at this juncture," Manuela Goretti, the IMF's mission chief for Sri Lanka, said in a teleconference with journalists in the capital Colombo.