COLOMBO – Sri Lanka failed to sell 97% of offered Treasury bills at Tuesday’s (29) Rs 40 billion auction, raising only Rs 895 million rupees from real buyers, data from the state debt office showed.
The debt office offered Rs 8.0 billion of 3-month bills, but all bids were rejected. Of the Rs 16 billion 6-month bills offered, only Rs 407 million was sold at 4.64%, flat from last week. Of the Rs16 billion 12-month bills offered, only Rs 488 million was sold at a weighted average yield of 4.89%, against 4.88%last week.
Sri Lanka’s bond yields edged up on Tuesday, and spreads widened after Moody’s downgraded the country’s sovereign rating to Caa1 (CCC+ equivalent) overnight.
Sri Lanka’s central bank has monetized large volumes of debt to target 3, 6 and 12-month yields in 2020.
When domestic credit picks up failures of domestic Treasuries auctions, which are monetized (debt securities turned into bank notes exchangeable for dollars and real goods) will pressure the currency peg and generate excess demand.
In previous currency crises – when private credit was strong – entire auctions had been rejected, and new rupees created, sometimes to sterilize interventions already made.
-economynext.com