Munis Mostly Unchanged in Light Trading

The municipal market was unchanged Friday, in mostly light activity, ahead of the three-day Labor Day weekend."It's just quiet," a trader in New York said. "There's not much going on. People are just ready for the long weekend. I'd say we're just totally unchanged, pretty light activity in the secondary. People are just on the sidelines mostly."

"I'm really not seeing much of anything going on out there," a trader in Los Angeles said.

"There are some bits and pieces trading, certainly seeing a few trades here and there, but I wouldn't necessarily call the market active. I've seen a couple of big trades, but it's scattered. It's very quiet, and we're just flat."

Trades reported by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Friday showed little movement.

A dealer sold to a customer California 5s of 2032 at 5.13%, even with where they traded Thursday.

Bonds from an interdealer trade of Wake County, N.C., 4.5s of 2024 at 3.62%, even with where they were sold Thursday.

Bonds from an interdealer trade of University of California Regents Build America Bonds, 5.77s of 2043 yielded 5.54%, even with where they were sold Thursday.

A dealer sold to a customer insured Los Angeles Unified School District 4.5s of 2028 at 4.85%, even with where they traded Thursday.

A dealer sold to a customer taxable Waterbury, Conn., 7.09s of 2038 at 7.08%, even with where they traded Thursday. Bonds from an interdealer trade of Dallas County Hospital District BABs 5.62s of 2044 yielded 5.54%, even with where they traded Thursday.

Bonds from an interdealer trade of Wisconsin BABs 5.3s of 2027 yielded 5.30%, even with where they were sold Thursday.

A dealer bought from a customer insured Glendale, Ariz., 5s of 2028 at 4.43%, even with where they traded Thursday.

A dealer sold to a customer Pasco County, Fla., BABs 6.76s of 2039 at 6.68%, even with where they were sold Thursday.

A dealer bought from a customer Texas' Frisco Independent School District 4.75s of 2036 at 4.62%, even with where they traded Thursday.

The Treasury market showed losses Friday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which opened at 3.34%, was quoted near the end of the session at 3.44%.

The yield on the two-year note was quoted near the end of the session at 0.95% after opening at 0.91%.

The yield on the 30-year bond, which opened at 4.16%, was quoted near the end of the session at 4.26%.

As of Thursday's close, the triple-A muni scale in 10 years was at 86.4% of comparable Treasuries, according to Municipal Market Data, while, 30-year munis were at 102.2% of comparable Treasuries.

As of Thursday's close, 30-year tax-exempt triple-A general obligation bonds were at 106.0% of the comparable London Interbank Offered Rate.

In economic data released Friday, nonfarm payrolls dropped 216,000 in August after a revised 276,000 decline in July. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted that 225,000 jobs were lost in August.

The unemployment rate climbed to 9.7% in August, up from 9.4% the previous month.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted a 9.5% unemployment rate.

Activity in the new-issue market was light Friday.

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