Secondary market bond yields edge up marginally in thin trade

Tuesday, 1 April 2014 00:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Wealth Trust Securities Secondary market bond yields edged up marginally in thin trade yesterday as most market participants were seen on the sidelines with the month and quarter drawing to an end. This was despite inflation for the month of March reflecting a drop in its annualised average for a tenth consecutive month to 5.70% while its point-to-point remained unchanged at 4.20%. A limited amount of activity was witnessed on 1 April 2018 and 1 July 2019 maturities within the ranges of 8.82% to 8.84% and 9.19% to 9.23% respectively. Meanwhile in money markets, overnight call money and repo rates remained steady to average 6.97% and 6.56% respectively as surplus liquidity dipped once again to Rs. 12.03 billion yesterday. The Open Market Operations (OMO) department of Central Bank was seen draining out an amount of Rs. 4.62 b on an overnight basis at a weighted average of 6.52% while an additional Rs. 7.41 b was deposited at its Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) of 6.50%.

Rupee closes the day steady The dollar/rupee (USD/LKR) rate remained steady within the range of Rs. 130.70-Rs.130.75 for a fourth consecutive day yesterday. The total USD/LKR traded volume for the previous day (28 March 2014) stood at US$ 56.80 million. Some of the forward dollar rates that prevailed in the market were: one month – 131.35; three months – 132.40; and six months – 133.85.