Market Post: Secondary Activity Up After Big Primary Week

NEW YORK - The tax-exempt market was wrapping up the week with investors both buying and selling in morning trading.

"There are some buyers out there and some sellers," a New York trader said. "Nothing is really one way. It's mostly steady."

The Municipal Market Data scale was not updated by press time. On Thursday, the 10-year tax-exempt yield closed at 1.86% for the fifth consecutive trading session while the two-year yield finished flat at 0.32% for the 15th straight session. The 30-year yield fell two basis points to 3.15%.

Treasuries were much weaker, paring gains made on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year yield and the 30-year yield each rose four basis points to 1.66% and 2.72%. The two-year yield rose one basis point to 0.32%.

So far this week, muni-to-Treasury ratios have fallen as munis outperformed Treasuries and became relatively more expensive.

The two-year ratio dropped to 103.2% on Thursday from 106.7% on Monday. The 10-year ratio fell to 114.8% on Thursday from 117.7%. The 30-year ratio dropped slightly to 117.5% from 118% at the beginning of the week.

Munis have continued to outperform Treasuries for June, as ratios have consistently fallen since June 1. The two-year ratio fell from 123.1% at the beginning of June, while the 10-year ratio fell from 119.9%. The 30-year ratio dropped from 120.6% at the start of June.