The tax-exempt market continued to trade steady to slightly weaker as activity picked up a bit after a dull day Monday.
"There is not much going on," a New York trader said. "It's par for the course as per the last few days. It's about steady to weaker and moving very conservative."
In the primary market, Barclays priced $196.9 million of Phoenix Civic Improvement Corporation senior lien airport revenue refunding bonds, subject to the alternative minimum tax. The bonds are rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service and AA-minus by Standard & Poor's.
Yields ranged from 0.67% with a 4% coupon in 2015 to 3.27% with a 5% coupon in 2032. Bonds maturing in 2014 were offered via sealed bid. The bonds are callable at par in 2023.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is expected to price $150 million of Arizona Health Facilities Authority variable rate revenue refunding bonds for the Phoenix Children's Hospital. The bonds are rated BBB-plus by Standard & Poor's.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. is expected to price $258 million of Wisconsin transportation revenue bonds, rated Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service and AA-plus by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings. The deal was postponed last week due to market conditions.
In the competitive market, triple-A rated Prince George's County in Maryland auctioned $340.2 million of general obligation consolidated public improvement refunding bonds in two pricings.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch won the bid for the first series of $202.6 million. Yields ranged from 0.20% with a 3% coupon in 2014 to 2.92% with a 3% coupon in 2028. The bonds are callable at par in 2023.
Citi won the bid for the second series of $137.6 million. Yields ranged from 0.19% with a 2% coupon in 2014 to 3.05% with a 3% coupon in 2033. The bonds are callable at par in 2023.
Municipal bond market reads showed a steady to slightly firmer market Monday after steady or small gains Thursday and Friday of last week.
Yields on the Municipal Market Data triple-A GO scale finished steady to one basis point lower. The 10-year and 30-year yields fell one basis point each to 1.81% and 2.85%, respectively. The two-year held at 0.34% for the sixth session.
The Municipal Market Advisors 5% coupon triple-A benchmark scale also showed mostly unchanged yields. The 10-year yield and the 30-year yield held at 1.84% and 2.94%, respectively, for the fourth consecutive trading session. The two-year closed unchanged at 0.35% for the sixth session.
Treasuries continued to trade weaker Tuesday afternoon. The benchmark 10-year yield and the 30-year yield jumped four basis points each to 2.01% and 3.21%, respectively. The two-year yield increased one basis point to 0.27%.
