The Sri Lankan rupee ended Wednesday with no spot closing quote, following intraday trades at 329.25 (low) and 330.25 (high) to the dollar. The telegraphic transfer rate closed at 336.50 buying / 345.50 selling, dealers said, the official confirmation of the depreciation cycle that earlier hit a bank-counter record high of Rs.346.50 at Commercial and Sampath.
Bond yields closed up across the curve:
- 15.12.2026 bond: 9.55/70 percent
- 15.12.2029 bond: 10.30/45 percent (up from 10.20/30 percent)
- 01.08.2030 bond: 10.35/50 percent (up from 10.30/40 percent)
- 15.06.2034 bond: 11.40/50 percent (up from 11.35/42 percent)
- 15.08.2036 bond: 11.25/70 percent
At the weekly Treasury bill auction earlier in the afternoon, the Public Debt Management Office sold Rs. 67.23 billion of bills against an offered Rs. 140 billion — a 48 percent fill rate that points to weak primary-market demand consistent with the foreign-currency stress.
Yield moves at the auction:
- 3-month bill: +5 basis points to 8.18 percent (Rs. 65 billion offered, Rs. 46.12 billion sold)
- 6-month bill: +2 basis points to 8.25 percent (Rs. 40 billion offered, Rs. 16.43 billion sold)
- 12-month bill: unchanged at 8.49 percent (Rs. 35 billion offered, Rs. 4.68 billion sold)
All three tenors remain available on tap. The settlement date is May 22.
Combined, the auction shortfall and the bond curve shift reinforce the rate-pressure signal already visible in this week’s forex action and equity weakness on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
