The tax-exempt market continued to see fairly quiet trading Friday morning after what has been an already slow week.
Munis traded firmer Thursday and Friday morning, following Treasuries, as fears over the fiscal cliff returned to markets.
"Traders are probably leaving soon because it's dead," a New Jersey trader said.
Data from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board showed trading is extremely quiet. On Monday, 14,184 trades occurred, down from the 30-day average of 42,136 trades. In par amount, $4.747 billion of trades were made, down from the 30-day average of $12.138 billion.
Activity picked up slightly on Wednesday. There were 32,085 trades, down from the 30-day average of 43,144. In terms of par amount, $6.284 billion was traded, about half of the 30-day average of $12.359 billion.
And Thursday saw the most action. Over 35,000 trades took place, close to the 30-day average of 42,731. And $7.56 billion in par amount was traded, more than half of the 30-day average of $12.259 billion.
The Municipal Market Data scale ended firm Thursday. The 10-year yield fell three basis points to 1.74%. The 30-year yield was steady at 2.83% for the fourth session while the two-year closed flat at 0.31% for the seventh consecutive session.
Treasuries were stronger Friday morning. The benchmark 10-year yield and the 30-year yield fell one basis point each to 1.71% and 2.89%, respectively. The two-year yield also fell one basis point to 0.26%.
