Bond market at a standstill

By Wealth Trust Securities

The new treading week commenced on a dull note as activity in the secondary bond market was at a standstill yesterday due to all market participants continuing to be on the side-lines. Only the 01.05.27 maturity was seen trading at a level of 20.60%.

The total secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volume for 17 June was Rs. 8.68 billion.   

In money markets, the weighted average rates on overnight Call money and REPO stood at 14.50% each while the net liquidity deficit stood at Rs. 496.57 billion yesterday. An amount of Rs. 194.31 billion was deposited at central banks SDFR (Standard Deposit Facility Rate) of 13.50% while an amount of Rs. 690.88 billion was withdrawn from central banks SLFR (Standard Deposit Facility Rate) of 14.50%.

Furthermore, the Domestic Operations Department (DOD) of the central bank of Sri Lanka conducted auctions for outright sales of treasury bills totalling Rs. 25 billion for periods ranging from 129 days to 297 days. A total of Rs. 2.9 billion was accepted in total at weighted average rates ranging from 20.75% to 21.80%.

Forex Market  

In the Forex market, the middle rate for USD/LKR spot contracts depreciated to Rs. 360.75 yesterday against its previous day’s Rs. 359.75.

The total USD/LKR traded volume for 17 June was $ 15.80 million.  

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