Sri Lanka PM says economy 'has collapsed,' unable to buy oil

Sri Lanka’s prime minister says its debt-laden economy has “collapsed" after months of shortages of food, fuel and electricity

ByKrishan Francis Associated Press

June 22, 2022, 4:42 AM

Women wait in a queue to buy kerosene in in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 11, 2022. Sri Lanka's economic crisis, the worst in its history, has completely recast the lives of the country's once galloping middle class. For many families that never had to think twice about fuel or food, the effects have been instant and painful, derailing years of progress toward lifestyles aspired to across South Asia. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
The Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lanka’s prime minister says its debt-laden economy has “collapsed” after months of shortages of food, fuel and electricity.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on Wednesday that the South Asian country is “facing a far more serious situation beyond the mere shortages of fuel, gas, electricity and food. Our economy has completely collapsed.”

Wickremesinghe is also the finance minister tasked with stabilizing the economy. He said Sri Lanka is unable to purchase imported fuel, even for cash, due to heavy debts owed by its petroleum corporation.

He said the government missed out on the chance to turn the situation around and that “We are now seeing signs of a possible fall to rock bottom.”