Secondary Bond market rates edge up

Tuesday, 7 January 2025 02:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rupee depreciates

By Wealth Trust Securities

The Secondary Bond market kickstarted the week with yields edging up ahead of the upcoming Treasury bond auction due on Thursday, 9 January. Trading activity and transaction volumes were seen at healthy levels.

The 2026 tenors bucked the trend and saw yields remain relatively stable with the 01.02.26, 01.08.26 and 15.12.26 maturities seen trading at the rates of 8.95%, 9.25% and 9.47% respectively. However, the rest of the yield curve was seen edging upwards. The 15.09.27 and 15.10.27 maturities were seen trading at the rate of 9.85%. The 2028 maturities of 01.05.28, 01.07.28, 15.10.28 and 15.12.28 were seen trading at the elevated rates of 10.38%-10.40%, 10.40%-10.42%, 10.45% and 10.50% respectively. The 15.09.29 maturity saw yields increase considerably to trade at the rate of 10.80%. The 01.07.32 maturity saw trades within the range of 11.47%-11.50%.

The total secondary market Treasury Bond/Bill transacted volume for 3 January was Rs. 28.96 billion.

In money markets, the weighted average rates on overnight call money and Repo stood at 8.00% and 8.10% respectively yesterday.

The net liquidity surplus stood at Rs. 162.73 billion yesterday. No funds were withdrawn from the Central Bank’s SLFR (Standing Lending Facility Rate) of 8.50%, while an amount of Rs. 162.73 billion was deposited at Central Bank’s SDFR (Standard Deposit Facility Rate) of 7.50%.

Forex Market

In the Forex market, the USD/LKR rate on spot contracts closed the day depreciating Rs. 295.20/296.00 as against its previous day’s closing level of Rs. 293.95/294.15. The total USD/LKR traded volume for 3 January was $ 112.38 million.

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