Market Post: Munis Steady on Quiet as Thanksgiving Nears

The tax-exempt market continued to see quiet trading Monday afternoon as traders said there was not enough supply to move the market this week.

"It seems like we are in holiday mode," a New York trader said. "The $1 billion Texas deal is a one-off. So there is nothing crazy going on today. There are some customer bid-wanteds out but whatever business you see will be Monday and Tuesday. And that will be it for the week."

He added that overall the week is expected to be quiet. "New issues are quiet this week. It's a week to digest things you already own."

The New York trader said the market is mostly steady though slightly weaker on the short end of the curve.

In the primary market Monday, JPMorgan priced $1 billion of Texas Municipal Gas Acquisition and Supply Corp. gas-supply revenue bonds, rated A3 by Moody's Investors Service and BBB by Standard & Poor's. Pricing details were not yet available.

JPMorgan also priced for retail $143.5 million of Connecticut Housing Finance Authority housing mortgage finance program bonds, rated triple-A by Moody's and Standard & Poor's. Institutional pricing is expected Tuesday. Prices were not available by press time.

Jefferies & Co. priced for retail $90 million of University of Connecticut bonds, rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA-minus by Standard & Poor's. Institutional pricing is expected Tuesday. Prices were not yet available.

The Municipal Market Data scale set new record low yields with each passing day throughout the last week. On Friday, the 10-year yield dropped one basis point to a record low of 1.50%, beating the previous record of 1.51% set Thursday. Before that, the MMD record was 1.54% set Wednesday and the 1.55% set Tuesday.

The 30-year MMD yield also fell one basis point to 2.54%, setting a record low. The previous record was 2.55% set Thursday and before that, 2.60% set Wednesday and 2.64% set Tuesday.

The two-year finished steady at 0.30% for the 36th consecutive trading session.

Treasuries continued to weaken Monday afternoon as a risk-on trade pushed investors into stocks. The benchmark 10-year yield increased three basis points to 1.61% while the 30-year yield jumped four basis points to 2.77%. The two-year was steady at 0.24%.

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