Yields Drop in Short Week, Buoyed by Wednesday

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The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes declined during this holiday-shortened week, buoyed mostly by a Wednesday rally of three to five basis points.

“It was combination of reinvestments, cash being put to work, low dealer inventory, and a light calendar from a shortened Fourth of July week,” Daniel Berger, senior market strategist at Thomson Reuters, said of Wednesday’s firmness.

“This rally was really evident in the five- and 10-year range,” he said. “And the [Municipal Market Data] ratio to ­Treasuries really diminished quite a bit, meaning that there was substantial muni outperformance.”

He said trading activity was dull Thursday as things slowed down quite a bit, Berger said.

“The market has been quite ­volatile,” he said. “We have to see what the market will be like next week. There could be deals ­popping up, but it is a relatively light calendar.”

Berger noted that Wednesday’s $105.7 million competitive sale of general obligation debt for gilt-edged Missouri was a catalyst for broad and aggressive high-grade trading in the short and intermediate range.

JPMorgan won the bonds.

“Part of this could have been scarcity in the name, but it got a strong reception,” he said.

The Bond Buyer 20-bond index of 20-year GO yields declined two basis points this week to 4.36%, the index’s lowest level since 4.28% on June 3.

The 11-bond index of higher-grade 20-year GO yields also declined two basis points this week to 4.08%, its lowest level since 4.01% on June 3.

The revenue bond index, which measures 30-year revenue bond yields, dropped five basis point this week to 4.79%. This was its lowest level since 4.69% on Oct. 8, 2009.

The Bond Buyer one-year note index, which is based on ­one-year tax-exempt note yields, ­declined five basis points this week to 0.59%, but remained above its 0.56% level from two weeks ago.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose eight basis points this week to 3.02%, but remained below its 3.13% level from two weeks ago.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond jumped 12 basis points this week to 4.00%, but is still below its 4.09% level from two weeks ago.

The average weekly yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer municipal bond index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, declined three basis points this week to 5.14%.

It is the lowest weekly average for the yield to maturity since the week that ended June 10, when it was 5.10%.

Priti Patnaik contributed to this column.

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