Weekly T-Bill weighted averages leapfrog once again

• Secondary market bond rates increase further

By Wealth Trust Securities 

The weekly Treasury bill weighted average rates were seen skyrocketing at its auctions held yesterday, following the steep increases at the bond auctions conducted the previous day. It was the 91-day bill which reflected the sharpest increase of 312 basis points to 23.85% followed by the 182-day bill by 250 basis points to 24.40% and the 364-day bill by 180 basis points to 23.84%. 

The total accepted amount fell short of the total offered amount for a second consecutive week as only Rs. 71.17 billion was accepted in total against a total offered amount of Rs. 77.5 billion. The phase two of the auction was opened until close of business of the day prior to settlement (i.e., 3.30 p.m. today). Given below are the details of the auction:

In the secondary bond market, yields were seen increasing further as the liquid maturities of 01.06.25 and 15.01.28 hit intraday highs of 24.40% and 22.10% respectively against its previous day’s closing levels of 23.75/80 and 21.20/60.

The total secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volume for 28 June 2022 was Rs. 24.37 billion.   

In money markets, the weighted average rates on overnight Call money and REPO stood at 14.50% each while the net liquidity deficit stood at Rs. 467.89 billion yesterday. An amount of Rs. 223.20 billion was deposited at Central Banks SDFR (Standard Deposit Facility Rate) of 13.50% while an amount of Rs. 691.09 billion was withdrawn from Central Banks SLFR (Standard Deposit Facility Rate) of 14.50%.

Forex Market 

In the Forex market, the middle rate for USD/LKR spot contracts appreciated further to Rs. 359.72 yesterday against its previous day’s Rs. 359.90.

The total USD/LKR traded volume for 28 June 2022 was $ 26.59 million.  

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