Sunday Jul 05, 2026
Sunday Jul 05, 2026
Wednesday, 24 June 2026 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Wealth Trust Securities
The secondary Bond market yesterday saw rates edge marginally lower at the short end of the curve while recording a marginal uptick on the medium end.
Market sentiment was driven by reports that the US Treasury had issued a 60-day license authorizing the production, delivery, and sale of Iranian oil. Additionally, Iran claimed that the US had agreed to unfreeze approximately $ 12 billion in Iranian assets, contributing to a further notable decline in Brent crude prices.
Overall, market activity and transaction volumes remained at moderate levels.
The 01.05.28 and 15.10.28 maturities traded within the ranges of 10.64%-10.60% and 10.6550%-10.6350%. The 15.12.29 maturity traded at the rate of 10.90%. The 01.08.30 maturity traded down the range of 11.20%-11.17%. The 01.11.33 maturity traded at 11.65%. The 15.06.34 maturity traded at the rate of 11.70%. The 15.06.35 maturity traded at the rate of 11.95%.
The Treasury Bill auction scheduled for today, will have a total amount of Rs. 70 billion on offer. This will comprise of Rs. 35 billion offered on the 91-day maturity, Rs. 25 billion on the 182-day maturity and Rs. 10 billion on the 364-day maturity. This is broadly in line with the maturity corresponding to the scheduled auction, which is estimated to be approximately Rs. 70.50 billion.
To recap: At the weekly Treasury Bill auction conducted last Wednesday, rates dropped for the first time in five weeks. This reflected the downward adjustment in secondary bond market yields.
The weighted average yield on the 91-day Treasury Bill decreased by 7 basis points to 10.02%, the 182-day Bill saw its rate drop by 11 basis points to 10.16%. However, the 364-day tenor remained unchanged at 10.16%. As such the inversion in the T-Bill yield curve was corrected.
The auction raised the entire Rs. 70 billion offered at the first phase in competitive bidding. Total bids received amounted to 1.85 times the offered volume. Notably, the bulk of the accepted amount was raised from the shorter tenor 3 months which raised more than its respective offered amount. The other two tenors saw acceptance sharply below their respective offered amounts.
In the money market, the weighted average call money rate was recorded at 9.21% yesterday while weighted average Repo rate stood at 9.24%.
The net liquidity surplus was recorded at Rs. 64.26 billion. An amount of Rs. 101.11 billion was deposited at Central Bank’s SDFR (Standing Deposit Facility Rate) of 8.25% as against an amount of Rs. 36.85 billion withdrawn from the Central Bank’s SLFR (Standing Lending Facility Rate) of 9.25%.
Forex market
In the forex market, the USD/LKR rate on spot contracts closed at the rate of Rs. 335.00/335.50 as against its previous day’s closing of Rs. 334.45/334.75.
The total USD/LKR traded volume for 22nd June 2026 was $ 57.25 million.
(References: Public Debt Management Office- Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Bloomberg E-Bond trading platform, Money broking companies)
