Myanmar's economic turmoil is due to political instability and mismanagement following a February coup, a US official said on Wednesday after a junta minister blamed the crisis partly on foreign backers of its opponents, Reuters reported.

The military government's investment minister attributed Myanmar's economic troubles to sabotage by opponents of the junta and their overseas backers in an exclusive interview with Reuters on Tuesday.

Asked about those comments during an online briefing on Wednesday, a senior US state department official said: "Everything we've seen, and we're being told from our folks on the ground, is that there is just sort of gross mismanagement of the economy."