Secondary Bond market rates close steady

• Rupee Depreciates

By Wealth Trust Securities

The secondary Bonds market recorded a steady and consolidative tone throughout last week, with yield movements largely anchored around prevailing levels and activity driven by selective demand and intermittent block-trade interest. 

Overall activity and transaction volumes were seen at healthy levels. As a result, two-way quotes closed broadly steady across most of the yield curve, although yields were observed drifting slightly upward toward the tail-end of the week on selected tenors.

In terms of the secondary Bond market trade summary, the 01.06.26 maturity traded at 8.15%, while the 15.10.27 maturity was seen changing hands at 8.50%. The 15.01.28 and 15.02.28 trading at 9.00% - 9.02%, the 01.05.28 maturity operating within 9.03%–9.02%, the 15.03.28 between 9.03%–9.01%, and the 15.10.28 quoted within 9.07%–9.08%, placing the overall 2028 segment in a narrow band of 9.00%–9.08%.

The 15.06.29 maturity traded between 9.40%–9.44%, the 15.09.29 within 9.45%–9.52%, the 15.10.29 around 9.46%–9.50%, and the 15.12.29 within 9.52%–9.49%, resulting in a weekly range of 9.40%–9.52% for the year, again showing a bunching up of the 2029 tenors. The 01.07.30 traded within the range of 9.62%-9.58%. The 01.11.33 saw yields fluctuate between 10.48%–10.45%. The 15.09.34 maturity traded between 10.55%–10.53%, and the 15.06.35 maturity was active within 10.70%–10.65%.

At the weekly Treasury Bill auction held last Wednesday (19 November) The weighted average rates at the weekly Treasury bill auction remained broadly steady, with the yields on the 91-day and the 182-day tenors remaining unchanged at 7.52% and 7.91% respectively. 

The 364-day tenor registered a marginal decrease of one basis point to 8.03%. This marks the 18th week where T-Bill rates have stayed broadly anchored around prevailing levels. However, the auction was undersubscribed, raising only 73.40% or Rs 63.12 billion out of the Rs 86 billion offered. This marks the third consecutive auction to undersubscribed whiles the bids received to offered amount ratio stood at 1.95 times.

Foreign holdings of rupee-denominated Government securities recorded a net outflow for the second consecutive week, amounting to Rs. 1.87 billion and as a result the total holdings dropped to Rs. 138.53 billion as at the close of the week ending 21 November.

The daily secondary market Treasury Bond/Bill transacted volumes for the first four days of the week averaged at Rs. 11.69 billion. 

In the money market, the total outstanding liquidity surplus in the inter-bank money market dropped to Rs. 78.27 billion as at the week ending November 21st, 2025, from Rs. 136.12 billion recorded the previous week. 

The weighted average interest rates on call money and repo were recorded within the ranges of 7.93%-7.94% and 7.96% respectively while the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) holding of Government Securities was registered at Rs. 2,508.92 billion as at 21 November 2025, unchanged against the previous week’s closing level.

Forex market

In the forex market, the USD/LKR rate on spot contracts was seen closing the week depreciating to Rs. 307.80/307.95 as against the previous week’s closing level of Rs. 306.90/307.20. This was subsequent to trading at a high of Rs. 307 and a low of Rs. 309.50.

The daily USD/LKR average traded volume for the first four trading days of the week stood at $ 73.11 million. 

(References: Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Bloomberg E-Bond trading platform, Money broking companies)