COLOMBO, (AFP) - Tsunami aid helped Sri Lanka's balance of payments swing to a surplus in the first half of 2005 even as the country's trade deficit widened on higher oil prices, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said Thursday.

The balance of payments, a record of receipts from and payments to the rest of the world, rose to a surplus of 174 million dollars from a deficit of 223 million dollars in the same period a year ago, the central bank said in a statement.

But exports in the first half jumped 11.5 percent to 2.90 billion dollars, while imports rose by 10.3 percent to 4.11 billion dollars, mainly because of higher oil prices, for a trade deficit of 1.21 billion dollars, the central bank said.

The balance of payments benefited from remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad, international donor aid and debt relief following the December 26 tsunami disaster, the central bank said.