The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes increased slightly this week amid muted interest in the secondary market.
“It’s been somewhat of a quiet week. The market is a little bit subdued,” said Evan Rourke, portfolio manager at Eaton Vance. “Some of the volatility in the taxable and equity markets is occupying individual investors’ attention and keeping them on the sidelines, which is putting a damper on muni activity.
“For institutional investors, there’s a relatively manageable calendar, and the June-July reinvestment approaching, so they’re not rushing to sell,” Rourke added. “The dealers aren’t really rushing to sell, either. The demand is soft, and there’s no pressure to sell. It’s just been quiet. Every afternoon, activity has just tailed off; there’s a summer-like effect.”
In the new-issue market this week, Citi priced $789.8 million of debt for Seattle, consisting of tax-exempt bonds, taxable Build America Bonds, and taxable recovery zone bonds. Bank of America Merrill Lynch priced $750 million of taxable BABS for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the BAB market’s largest-ever floating-rate note sale.
The Bond Buyer 20-bond index of 20-year general obligation bond yields rose three basis points this week to 4.32%, but remained below its 4.37% level from two weeks ago.
The 11-bond index of higher-grade 20-year GO yields also gained four basis points this week, to 4.04%, but remained below its 4.08% level from two weeks ago.
The revenue bond index, which measures 30-year revenue bond yields, rose one basis point this week to 4.90%. It is still below its 4.91% level from two weeks ago.
The Bond Buyer one-year note index, which is based on one-year tax-exempt note yields, fell one basis points this week to 0.52%, but it remained above its 0.51% level from two weeks ago.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 17 basis points this week to 3.55%, but it remained below its 3.74% level from two weeks ago.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond jumped 28 basis points this week to 4.45%. However, that was still below its 4.60% level from two weeks ago.
The weekly average yield to maturity on The Bond Buyer’s 40-bond municipal bond index, which is based on 40 long-term municipal bond prices, finished at 5.10%, up one basis point from last week’s 5.09%.
