Secondary Bond market activity increases; yields increase

Friday, 22 May 2026 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Wealth Trust Securities

The secondary Bond market yields were seen increasing further yesterday, mainly on the 01.07.28, 2032’s (i.e. 01.10.32 & 15.12.32) and 01.06.33 maturities as those were seen changing hands at highs of 10.55%, 11.48% and 11.60% respectively against its previous day closing levels of 10.05/20, 11.00/15 and 11.25/45.

Heightened geopolitical risk in the Middle East and sustained elevation in crude oil prices continued to weigh on investor sentiment, fostering a cautious market environment.

In addition, the 01.08.26, 15.09.27, early 2028’s (i.e. 15.02.28 & 15.03.28), other 2028’s (i.e. 01.05.28 and 15.10.28), 2029’s (i.e. 15.09.29, 15.10.29 & 15.12.29), 2030’s (i.e. 01.03.30, 15.05.30 & 01.07.30), 15.06.34, 15.06.35, 15.08.36 and 01.07.37 maturities changed hands at levels of 8.45% to 8.68%, 9.155%, 10.00% to 10.10%, 10.40% to 10.55%, 10.50% to 10.95%, 10.40% to 10.80%, 11.50%, 11.50% to 11.5025%, 11.60% and 11.5025% respectively as well.

In money markets, the weighted average rates on overnight Call money and REPO stood at 7.90% and 7.94% respectively while an amount of Rs.128.42 billion was deposited at Central Bank’s SLDR (Standard Deposit Facility Rate) of 7.25%.

The Domestic Operations Department (DOD) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka drained out an amount of Rs.100 billion by way of overnight repo auction at a weighted average rate of 7.75%.

The net liquidity surplus stood at Rs.158.93 billion yesterday as an amount of Rs.69.49 billion was withdrawn from Central Banks SLFR (Standard Lending Facility Rate) of 8.25%.

Forex market

The USD/LKR rate on spot contracts was seen trading within the range of Rs. 331 to Rs. 348.

The total USD/LKR traded volume for 20 May was $ 24.00 million.

(References: Public Debt Management Office - Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Bloomberg E-Bond Trading Platform, Money Broking Companies)