Market Post: All Eyes on Primary as Market Gets Back to Business

The tax-exempt market got off to another slow start Monday as secondary trading activity halted until new deals price.

After Hurricane Sandy shut down most of the market last week, many deals were expected to price early this week, and all eyes were on the primary market.

"It's a little slow," a New York trader said. "Lots of people are watching new deals."

In the primary market this week, $7.06 billion is expected to be priced, up from last week's revised $1.65 billion. On the negotiated calendar, $5.75 billion should be issued, up from last week's revised $1.16 billion. In competitive sales, $1.31 billion is expected to be auctioned, up from last week's revised $494 million.

Later Monday, the Washington Suburban Sanitation District, based in Maryland, will auction $250 million of general obligation bonds, rated triple-A.

On Friday, the Municipal Market Data scale was steady to weaker. The 10-year yield increased one basis point to 1.73%. The two-year yield was flat at 0.30% for the 28th consecutive session while the 30-year yield was steady at 2.82% for the fifth session.

Treasuries were much stronger Monday morning. The benchmark 10-year yield and the 30-year yield dropped four basis points each to 1.68% and 2.87%, respectively. The two-year yield fell one basis point to 0.27%.

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