Saturday Aug 01, 2026
Saturday Aug 01, 2026
Friday, 31 July 2026 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Wealth Trust Securities
At the round of Treasury Bond auctions conducted yesterday, the entire offered amount of Rs. 250 billion was raised at the first phase of the auction in competitive bidding. The Weighted averages recorded a mixed bag of outcomes as against its pre-auction rates, with the 2031 coming in below market levels, the 2034 at market levels while the 2036 and 2037 were above market levels.
The bids received-to-accepted amount ratio stood at 2.43 times, a remarkable feat given the scale of the auction.
Maturity-wise the results were as follows:
The shorter tenor 01.02.2031 maturity was issued at a weighted average yield of 11.90%, below its pre-auction secondary market bid rate of 11.95% on a comparable 01.03.31 maturity.
The 15.10.2034, maturity was issued at the weighted average yield of 12.42%, broadly in line with its pre-auction quote of 12.25/12.45.
The longer tenor 15.08.2036 maturity came in at a weighted average yield of 12.91%, above Tuesday’s closing rate of 12.40/12.65.
Finally, the 01.07.2037 maturity was issued at the rate of 13.01%, above Tuesday’s closing rate of 12.70-12.75 (see table for details of the auction).
The direct issuance window will be opened for an additional 10% of the offered amount across all three maturities at the respective weighted averages until 3 p.m. today.
The secondary Bond market yesterday rallied strongly post auction as the elevated yields attracted renewed buying interest. The buying frenzy culminated in yields dropping below the previous prevailing levels (Tuesday’s closing levels) and below the weighted averages established at the auction. Activity and transaction volumes were seen at robust levels.
The 15.10.28 maturity traded at the rate of 10.70%. The 01.07.30, 01.08.30 and the 15.10.30 maturities traded down the ranges of 11.60%-11.55% each and 11.65%-11.60% respectively. The 01.02.31 maturity traded down to a low of 11.75% from a high of 11.88%, post auction. The 15.10.34 maturity traded down to a low of 12.27% post auction from 12.35%. The 15.08.36 maturity traded from 12.75% to 12.70% while the 01.07.37traded down to 12.80% from 12.90%.
In the money market, the net liquidity surplus was recorded at Rs. 175 billion yesterday. An amount of Rs. 115 billion was deposited at Central Bank’s SDFR (Standing Deposit Facility Rate) of 8.25%.
In addition, the Domestic Operations Department (DOD) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka drained out an amount of Rs. 60 billion by way of an overnight repo auction at a weighted average rate of 8.68%.
The weighted average rates on overnight Call money and Repo were recorded at 9.00% and 9.04% respectively.
Forex market
The USD/LKR rate on spot contracts was seen closing the day appreciating to Rs. 336/336.10, from its previous closing of Rs. 336.10/336.20.
The total USD/LKR traded volume for 28 July was $ 112.54 million.
(References: Public Debt Management Office - Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Bloomberg E-Bond Trading Platform, Money Broking Companies)
