Weekly Yields Spike Amid Flood of New Issues

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The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes increased dramatically this week amid a supply-driven rout that persisted through Wednesday and prompted a number of issuers to postpone pricing.

However, Michael Pietronico, chief executive officer at Miller Tabak Asset Management, said that with Thursday’s long-end rally, there’s a sense that the weakness in the market has hit bottom — at least in the near term.

“Given the violent move, our expectation is that it will take time to stabilize,” Pietronico said.

“Our sense is that the intermediate sector will take a little longer to participate, as there is a little bit more of a supply hang-up there,” he said. “But we’re setting ourselves up for a pretty nice end of the year. Enough deals got done and enough got postponed that we should be able to handle what’s to come.”

The Bond Buyer 20-bond index of 20-year general obligation bond yields increased 48 basis points this week to 4.72%, the highest since July 1, 2009, when it was 4.81%.

The 11-bond GO index of higher-grade 20-year GO yields rose 49 basis points this week to 4.47%, which is the highest level for the index since July 1, 2009, when it was 4.53%.

The revenue bond index, which measures 30-year revenue bond yields, gained 38 basis points this week to 5.25%. That is its highest level since Sept. 10, 2009, when it was 5.33%.

The Bond Buyer one-year note index, which is based on one-year tax-exempt note yields, rose eight basis points this week to 0.54%, which is its highest level since Aug. 4, when it was 0.55%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 25 basis points this week to 2.91%. This is the highest the yield has been since Aug. 5, when it was also 2.91%.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose four basis points this week to 4.29%, which is the highest level for the yield since June 3, when it was also 4.29%.

The weekly average yield to maturity on The Bond Buyer’s 40-bond municipal bond index, which is based on 40 long-term muni bond prices, rose 26 basis points this week to 5.29%, the highest since the week ended March 4.

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