Holiday mood in secondary markets sees activity dry up

Monday, 27 May 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Wealth Trust Securities

Activity in secondary bond markets dried up recently ahead of a long weekend and with 23 May been a half day as well. A limited amount of activity was witnessed on the eight-year maturity, at levels of 11.55%, while the 364-day bill was seen changing hands within the range of 10.80% to 10.85%. The liquid two five year maturities (01.04.2018 and 15.08.2018) were seen been quoted at levels of 11.07% to 11.10% and 11.13% to 11.16% respectively.

Overnight liquidity in money markets was at a surplus of Rs. 4.513 billion on Thursday, as call money and Repo rates averaged 9.00% and 8.31% respectively. The Open Market Operations (OMO) department refrained from conducting any form of auctions for a fifth consecutive day.

Rupee remains steady

The USD/LKR rate was seen been traded within a thin range of Rs. 126.25 to Rs. 126.35 on Thursday and closed the day at Rs. 126.30. The total USD/LKR volume for the previous day (21st May 2013) stood at US$ 107.09 million. Given below are some forward Dollar rates that prevailed in the market,

1 month    - 127.25

3 months    - 128.90

6 months   - 131.55