Holiday mood in secondary markets sees activity dry up

By Wealth Trust Securities

Activity in secondary bond markets dried up yesterday ahead of a long weekend and with today (23 May) being 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 (i.e. 1 April 2018 and 15 August 2018) were seen been quoted at levels of 11.07%-11.10% and 11.13%-11.16% respectively.

Overnight liquidity in money markets was at a surplus of Rs. 4.513 b yesterday 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 yesterday and closed the day at Rs. 126.30. The total USD/LKR volume for the previous day (21 May) stood at US$ 107.09 million. Some forward dollar rates that prevailed in the market were one month –127.25; three months – 128.90; and six months – 131.55.