Bond yields edge up further 

By Wealth Trust Securities 

The secondary bond market witnessed continued selling interest on the liquid maturities of 01.07.25 and two 2027’s (i.e., 01.05.27 & 15.09.27) which led to its yields increasing yesterday to hit intraday highs of 29.50%, 27.60% and 27.45% respectively against its previous day’s closing levels of 28.40/60, 26.65/90 and 26.70/00. In addition, maturities of 01.05.24 and 15.05.26 traded at levels of 29.00% to 29.25% and 28.60% as well.

The total secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volume for 26th April 2023 was Rs. 68.17 billion.

In money markets, the net liquidity deficit stood at Rs. 147.68 billion yesterday as an amount of Rs. 0.60 billion was deposited at Central Banks SDFR (Standard Deposit Facility Rate) of 15.50% against an amount of Rs. 148.28 billion being withdrawn from Central Banks SLFR (Standard Lending Facility Rate) of 16.50%. The weighted average rates on overnight call money and REPO stood at 16.50% each.

Forex Market 

In the Forex market, the USD/LKR spot contracts closed the day at Rs. 321.70/321.90 yesterday against its previous day’s closing level of Rs. 321.50/321.90, subsequent to trading within the range of Rs.321.75 to Rs. 321.90.

The total USD/LKR traded volume for 26 April was $ 67.60 million.  

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