Market Post: Munis Remain Quiet with No New Issues

The tax-exempt market opened trading Wednesday on a very quiet note as most market participants took another day off. The primary and secondary markets had little activity.

"The market is very quiet," a Boston trader said. "The phone only rang a couple of times."

The new issue market was very quiet. "I think that all new deals have been postponed until next year," he said, adding issuers are not rushing to get deals done before the end of the year and might not be concerned about tax exemption status changing come January. "As of right now, it appears that people are looking at things as status quo."

The markets reopened for a full day of trading after the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommended an early close for U.S. bond markets Monday and a full close on Tuesday for Christmas.

On Monday, the Municipal Market Data scale ended steady after two days of firmer trading. The 10-year yield was steady at 1.77% while the 30-year yield closed flat at 2.83%. The two-year finished flat at 0.31% for the fifth consecutive trading session.

Despite posting small gains at the end of last week, the 10-year MMD yield remains 30 basis points above its record low of 1.47% set Nov. 28. The 30-year still trades 36 basis points above its record low of 2.47% also set Nov. 28.

Treasuries were slightly stronger Wednesday morning. The benchmark 10-year yield and the 30-year yield fell one basis point each to 1.76% and 2.93%, respectively. The two-year was steady at 0.27%.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER