The municipal market ended the week mostly unchanged Wednesday and Thursday amid light trading activity.
The market closed early Thursday ahead of the Christmas Day holiday.
Traders reported that the market idled as it moved into its end-of-year hiatus.
"People are winding down from the week and pretty much for the whole year, so it's very quiet, inactive, the scale is steady," a trader said.
Participants said even though the market was thinly traded, they were looking for a modicum of activity this week.
"It will be on the quiet side but there's always stuff that needs to get done," another trader said.
The Treasury market was somewhat mixed Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note opened at 3.75% and was also quoted near the end of the session at 3.75%.
The yield on the two-year note opened at 0.90% and was quoted near the end of the session at 0.93%. The yield on the 30-year bond was quoted near the end of the session at 4.61% after opening at 4.62%.
Wednesday's Municipal Market Data triple-A scale yielded 2.95% in 10 years and 3.64% in 20 years, matching Tuesday's levels of 2.95% and 3.64%, respectively, Tuesday. The scale yielded 4.11% in 30 years Wednesday after Tuesday's level of 4.12%.
Meanwhile, on Thursday the Treasury market saw yields push higher across the curve. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note climbed to 3.80%, the yield on the two-year note rose to 0.97%, and the yield on the 30-year bond was quoted at 4.68%, six basis points higher than the 4.62% quoted at the open.
Thursday's MMD triple-A scale yielded 2.96% in 10 years, 3.65% in 20 years and 4.11% in 30 years.
Trades reported by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Wednesday showed little movement. Bonds from an interdealer trade of insured Illinois Finance Authority 4.375s of 2031 yielded 5.85%, even with where they traded Tuesday. A dealer bought from a customer taxable Illinois 5.1s of 2033 at 6.51%, even with where they were sold Tuesday.
A dealer sold to a customer taxable New York Build America Bonds 6.385s of 2029 at 6.29%, even with where they traded Tuesday. A dealer sold to a customer California 5s of 2032 at 5.65%, even with where they were sold Tuesday.
A dealer sold to a customer Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corp. 6.25s of 2040 at 6.08%, even with where they were sold Tuesday. Bonds from an interdealer trade of New York's Liberty Development Corp. 5.25s of 2035 at 5.39%, even with where they traded Tuesday.
In economic data released Wednesday, personal spending rose 0.5% in November as incomes rose by 0.4%, the largest amount since May.
Core personal consumption expenditures, which exclude food and energy costs, were unchanged after rising 0.2% in October. Total consumption expenditures increased a revised 0.6% in October.
Personal incomes rose 0.3% in October.
The University of Michigan's final December consumer sentiment index reading was 72.5, compared to the preliminary December 73.4 reading.
New home sales plunged in November, falling 11.3%, a larger drop than economists estimated and the largest monthly decline since January. Buyers purchased new homes at a 355,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in November following a revised 400,000 rate in October. Economists expected 440,000 new home sales in November, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
On the economic front Thursday, new orders for durable goods rose 0.2% in November, against expectations for a 0.5% advance, the Commerce Department reported.
Finally, the tally of initial jobless claims fell 28,000 to 452,000 for the week ended Dec. 19. a 15-month low, the Labor Department reported.
