Secondary Bond market yields pick up

Tuesday, 19 May 2026 02:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Wealth Trust Securities

The secondary Bond market commenced the week with yields increasing as sentiment was weighed down by rising tensions in the Middle East and increasing crude oil prices.

Brent crude futures rose above $ 110 per barrel on Monday, building on last week’s gains as stalled US-Iran peace talks and the prolonged near-shutdown of the vital Strait of Hormuz kept global supply concerns elevated. This upward movement in rates mirrored global financial markets where foreign bond yields were also seen rising as a response to the inflationary impacts of the ongoing US-Iran War.

Activity was subdued as market participants largely adopted a defensive position amid prevailing uncertainty. However, transaction volumes remained at healthy levels due to the execution of several block trades.

The 15.12.27 maturity traded at the rate of 9.20%. The 15.10.29 maturity traded at the rate of 10.00%. The 01.07.30 maturity traded up the range of 10.20%-10.25%. The 01.06.33 maturity traded at the rate of 11.05%. The 15.06.34 maturity traded at the rate of 11.25%. The 15.08.36 maturity traded within the range of 11.35%-11.40%.

In the money market, the net liquidity surplus in the money market was recorded at Rs. 183.53 billion yesterday. As an amount of Rs. 151.18 billion was deposited at Central Bank’s SDFR (Standing Deposit Facility Rate) of 7.25% as against an amount of Rs. 42.65 billion withdrawn from the Central Bank’s SLFR (Standing Lending Facility Rate). In addition, the Domestic Operations Department (DOD) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka drained out an amount of Rs. 75 billion by way of overnight repo auction at a weighted average rate of 7.73%.

Forex market

The USD/LKR rate on spot contracts was seen trading within the range of an intraday high of 326.50 and an intraday low of 327.50.

The total USD/LKR traded volume for 15 May was $ 86.50 million.

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