Bond market at a complete standstill

Tuesday, 19 December 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Wealth Trust Securities

The secondary bond market was at a complete standstill yesterday, with a majority of market participants being on the sidelines.

The total secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volumes for the 15th of December 2017 was Rs.3.95 billion.

In money markets, the Overnight call money and repo rates averaged 8.11% and 7.54% respectively as the net surplus liquidity stood at Rs.26.36 billion. The Open Market Operations (OMO) Department of the Central Bank drained out an amount of Rs.18.20 billion on an overnight basis at a weighted average of 7.25%.

Rupee dips marginally

In the Forex market, the USD/LKR rates on spot contracts were seen losing marginally to close the day at Rs.153.12/20 against its previous day’s closing levels of Rs.153.10/15.

The total USD/LKR traded volume for the 15th of December 2017 was US $ 64.75 million.

Some of the forward USD/LKR rates that prevailed in the market were 1 Month - 154.15/30; 3 Months - 155.90/05 and 6 Months - 158.75/90.