Phase 1 of the weekly bill auction goes undersubscribed

• Bond market at a standstill

By Wealth Trust Securities

The Phase 1 of the weekly Treasury bill auction conducted yesterday was not fully subscribed to once again, as only an amount Rs. 53.6 billion was accepted in total against its offered amount of Rs. 100 billion. The Phase 2 of the auction will be opened for all three maturities at its weighted average rates until close of business of the day prior to settlement (i.e., 3.30 p.m. on 09 Feb 2023).

The weighted average rate on the market favorite 91-day bill decreased by three basis points to 29.88% while weighted average rates on the 182 day and 364-day maturities remained steady at 28.72% and 27.72% respectively. 

The activity in the secondary bond market was at a standstill yesterday as a majority of market participants opted to be on the sidelines. A trade was witnessed on the 15.05.26 maturity at 29.20% while limited trades were reported on the maturities of 15.01.28, 01.07.28 and 01.07.32 maturities at levels of 27.14%, 26.23% and 26.10% respectively.

In money markets, the weighted average rates on overnight call money and REPO stood at 15.46% and 15.50% respectively while an amount of Rs.117.74 billion was withdrawn from Central Banks SLFR (Standard Lending Facility Rate) of 15.50%.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 was remained steady at Rs. 361.96.

The total USD/LKR traded volume for 07 February was $ 60.35 million.  

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