Secondary bond market inactive

• Rs.  670.25 b withdrawn from Central Bank’s SLFR of 15.5%

By Wealth Trust Securities

The Colombo Consumer Price Index for the month of October saw its point-to-point decreasing for the first time in 13 months to 66.0% against its previous month of 69.8% while its annualised average increased to 38.3% against 33.4%.

However, the secondary bond market remained inactive yesterday as most market participants persisted to stay on the side-lines. Limited trades were registered on the bill maturities of 18.11.22, 27.01.23 and 24.03.23 at levels of 28.00%, 32.50% and 33.00% respectively.

The total secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volume for 28 October was Rs. 13.71 billion.   

In money markets, an amount of Rs. 670.25 billion was withdrawn from the Central Bank’s Standard Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of 15.50% while the net liquidity deficit stood at Rs. 344.06 billion yesterday. The amount deposited with Central Bank through its Standard Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) amounted to Rs. 326.19 billion at a rate of 14.50%.

Forex market 

In the forex market, the middle rate for USD/LKR spot contracts remained steady at Rs. 363.30 yesterday.

The total USD/LKR traded volume for 28 October was $ 18.20 million.  

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