Sri Lanka, June 4 -- Sri Lanka received US $ 695 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following the completion of the fifth and sixth reviews of its Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the Finance Ministry confirmed yesterday.

Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando said the Treasury had received the sixth and seventh tranches of the IMF programme, after the successful completion of the latest reviews, taking the total disbursements under the four-year bailout programme to more than US $ 2.4 billion.

The Sri Lankan rupee has been under pressure in the recent weeks, due to the higher global oil prices and increased import demand linked to the conflict in the Middle East. The authorities have repeatedly ma...