Bond market inactive ahead of third budget reading

By Wealth Trust Securities 

The activity in the secondary bond market was muted yesterday as most market participants continued to be on the side-lines ahead of the vote on the third reading of the Appropriation Bill for the fiscal year 2023.

The total secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volume for 6 December was Rs. 65.2 billion.  In money markets, the net liquidity deficit stood at Rs. 261.03 billion yesterday as an amount of Rs. 331.59 billion was deposited at Central Banks SDFR (Standard Deposit Facility Rate) of 14.50% against an amount of Rs. 592.61 billion withdrawn from Central Banks SLFR (Standard Lending Facility Rate) of 15.50%.

Forex Market 

In the Forex market, the middle rate for USD/LKR spot contracts remained steady at Rs. 363.18 yesterday. The total USD/LKR traded volume for 6 December was $ 138.50 million.  

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