Sri Lankan shares closed lower on Friday to snap a three-week winning streak, dragged down by weakness in consumers stocks while the island nation tries to secure funds for import payments.

The CSE All-Share index ended down 0.55% at 8,054.77. It shed 3.1% this week.

Sri Lanka, an island nation of 22 million people, is currently reeling under its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

The country aims to secure around $5 billion in funding this year to cover repayments for fuel imports and other items bought through credit lines, and another $1 billion to bolster its foreign reserves.

The island nation is aiming to attract well over $1 billion in foreign direct investment this year, an official said.

Sri Lanka shares fall for seventh session as industrials drag

The South Asian country defaulted on some overseas debt earlier this year and with a severe shortage of foreign exchange, it is struggling to pay for imports of basics such as fuel and medicine.

The equity market turnover on Friday was 1.31 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($3.68 million).

Trading volume rose to 80.7 million shares from 69.7 million shares in the previous session.

Foreign investors were net sellers in the equity market, offloading shares worth 16.3 million rupees, while domestic investors were net buyers, purchasing 1.3 billion rupees worth of shares, according to exchange data.