Wednesday Jul 29, 2026
Wednesday Jul 29, 2026
Tuesday, 28 July 2026 06:58 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Wealth Trust Securities
The secondary Bond market yesterday kicked off the new trading week on a slow note ahead of an action-packed shortened trading week. The week will see a Rs. 140 billion Treasury Bill auction today (28), followed by a Rs. 250 billion Treasury Bond auction on Thursday. In addition, the CCPI inflation figure for July is due to be released on Friday.
Market participants predominantly adopted a wait-and-see stance. As such, activity remained subdued.
Yields edged higher on selected maturities on market positioning ahead of the upcoming Bond auction. Transaction volumes were supported by several block trades, as the elevated yield levels attracted renewed buying interest.
The 15.12.26 maturity traded at the rate of 10% and the 15.09.29 maturity at the rate of 11.23%. The 01.07.30, 01.08.30 and 15.10.30 maturities traded at the rates of 11.60%, 11.62%-11.66% and 11.64%-11.68% respectively. The 15.01.33 maturity traded at the rate of 12.25%.
The Treasury Bill auction scheduled for today (28), will have a total amount of Rs. 140 billion on offer. This will comprise of Rs. 60 billion offered on the 91-day maturity, Rs 50 billion on the 182-day maturity and Rs. 30 billion on the 364-day maturity. This is below the maturity corresponding to the scheduled auction, which is estimated to be approximately Rs. 164.11 billion.
To recap: At the weekly Treasury Bill auction held last Wednesday, the weighted average yields on the three-months and six-months tenors dropped for the second consecutive week. Accordingly, the yield on the 91-day tenor declined by 18 basis points to 9.95% and the 182-day maturity dropped by 3 basis points to 10.24%. However, the 364-day maturity held steady at 10.20%. Incidentally the 91-Day Weighted Average Yield fell below 10% for the first time in seven weeks.
The auction successfully raised the full Rs. 140 billion offered at the first phase of competitive bidding. A further Rs. 14 billion was raised at phase II, out of the total market subscription of Rs. 84.81 billion. Accordingly, the aggregate accepted amount of the issuance was Rs. 154,000 million.
Meanwhile, the details of the next upcoming Treasury Bond auctions due to be held on Thursday, (30) were announced. The round of auctions will have a total offered amount of Rs. 250 billion across three available maturities.
The auction will be comprised of; Rs. 90 billion from a 1 February 2031 Maturity bearing a coupon rate of 11.60%, Rs. 80 billion from a 15 October 2034 Maturity bearing a coupon rate of 11.70%, Rs. 30 billion from a 15 August 2036 Maturity bearing a coupon rate of 10.85% and Rs. 30 billion from a 1 July 2037 Maturity bearing a coupon rate of 10.75% The settlement for which will be held on 3 August 2026.
In the money market, the net liquidity surplus stood at Rs. 153.80 billion yesterday. Of this, Rs. 93.80 billion was absorbed via the Central Bank’s Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) at 8.25%, while a further Rs. 60 billion was mopped up through an overnight repo auction conducted by the Domestic Operations Department (DOD) at a weighted average rate of 8.73%.
The weighted average rates on overnight call money and Repos were recorded at 9.00% and 9.03% respectively.
Forex market
The USD/LKR rate on spot contracts was seen closing at the day at Rs. 336.20/336.30, broadly steady against its previous day’s close of Rs. 336.25/336.35.
The total USD/LKR traded volume for 24 July was $ 48.05 million.
(References: Public Debt Management Office – Finance Ministry, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Bloomberg E-Bond Trading Platform, Money Broking Companies)
