Bond yields dip marginally ahead of IMF Board approval; Rupee appreciates

By Wealth Trust Securities

The expectations of the IMF’s board level approval for the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to Sri Lanka reflected positively in the secondary bond market yesterday, as yield decreased marginally. The liquid 01.07.25 and 15.09.27 maturities decreased to intraday lows of 31.00% and 28.00% respectively against its previous day’s closing level of 31.00/40 and 28.15/30 while two-way quotes on the rest of the yield curve reduced as well. In secondary bills, May 2023, September 2023 and March 2024 maturities traded at levels of 25.50%, 26.50% and 25.25% respectively.

The total secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volume for 17 March 2023 was Rs. 18.25 billion.

In money markets, the overnight net liquidity deficit was Rs. 154.03 billion yesterday with the said amount being withdrawn from Central Banks SLFR (Standard Lending Facility Rate) at 16.50%. The weighted average rates on overnight call money and REPO were at 16.50% each.

Forex Market

In the Forex market, the USD/LKR rate spot contracts appreciated marginally to close the day at levels of Rs. 332.00/335.00 yesterday subsequent to trading at levels of Rs. 334.00 to Rs. 339.75. The total USD/LKR traded volume for 17 March was $ 95.70 million.

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