Stuck in the Doldrums, Munis Mostly Flat

The municipal market was mostly flat Friday amid fairly light secondary trading activity.

“There’s a bit of a weaker tone, but we’re pretty much flat,” a trader in Los Angeles said. “Just stuck in the summer doldrums today, a quiet end to the week.”

The Treasury market showed some gains Friday. The benchmark 10-year note was quoted near the end of the session at 2.91% after opening at 2.97%.

The 30-year bond was quoted near the end of the session at 3.98% after opening at 4.08%.

The two-year note was quoted near the end of the session at 0.56% after opening at 0.58%.

The Municipal Market Data triple-A scale yielded 2.57% in 10 years and 3.67% in 20 years Friday, matching Thursday’s levels. The scale yielded 3.97% in 30 years Friday, matching Thursday.

Friday’s triple-A muni scale in 10 years was at 88.3% of comparable Treasuries and 30-year munis were at 99.7%, according to MMD, while 30-year tax-exempt triple-A general obligation bonds were at 107.3% of the comparable London Interbank Offered Rate.

“We’re pretty flat,” a trader in New York said. “I’m not really seeing much movement.”

In economic data released Friday, real gross domestic product increased at a 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter, the smallest gain in three quarters, as a surge in imports and slowing inventory growth outweighed gains in real estate and state and local spending.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of real GDP, increased 1.6% for the quarter ending on June 30.

Real GDP in the first quarter of 2010 was revised higher to 3.7% from 2.7% reported last month.

Economists polled by Thomson ­Reuters expected second-quarter real GDP to increase 2.5% annually, according to the median estimate.

The University of Michigan’s final July consumer sentiment index reading was 67.8, compared to the preliminary July 66.5, the final June 76.0, and the final May 73.6 reading.

Economists polled by Thomson had predicted a 67.0 reading for the index.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Business Barometer rose to 62.3 in July from 59.1 in June.

The data is compiled on a seasonally adjusted basis.

An index reading below 50 signals a slowing economy, while a level above 50 suggests expansion.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 56.0 reading for the ­indicator.

Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary that second-quarter GDP results were weaker than consensus, but the bigger story was the “downright atrocious mix” after consumer spending was taken into account.

“The real boosts for activity came from inventories, government spending, and the housing markets, all three of which are unsustainable sources of economic output,” he wrote.

“Friday’s GDP results provide concrete evidence of a concept we’ve been touting for about three months now: the U.S. economy is transitioning to a long-term situation marked by slower output growth and elevated unemployment that will persist for years to even possibly decades.”

Activity in the new-issue market was light Friday.

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