Bond market at a standstill

• Bill holding crosses Rs. 1 t once again
• Money market liquidity increases

By Wealth Trust Securities

The new trading week commenced on a lethargic note as the secondary bond market was at a standstill yesterday with most market participates opting to be on the sidelines.

The total secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volume for 22 July was Rs. 0.76 billion.   

In the money market, the overnight net liquidity surplus was seen increasing yesterday to Rs. 18.70 billion as an amount of Rs. 114.13 billion was deposited at Central Banks SLDR of 4.50% against an amount of Rs. 95.43 billion withdrawn from Central Banks SLFR of 5.50%. The weighted average rates on overnight call money and repo were registered at 5.12%% and 5.13%, respectively. The CBSL’s holding of Government Securities was seen crossing the Rs. 1 trillion threshold once again, to be recorded at Rs. 1,135.57 billion yesterday against its previous days of Rs. 922.09 billion.

USD/LKR   

In Forex markets, the overall market continued to remain inactive yesterday. The total USD/LKR traded volume for 22 July was $ 61.20 million.   

(References: Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Bloomberg E-Bond trading platform, Money broking companies)