After crumbling under the weight of California supply, tax-exempts took a breather Friday, ending mostly steady following a two-week selloff that pushed yields up double digits.
“It’s a little quieter today and that’s more due to lighter activity,” a Virginia trader said. “There was such a heavy primary calendar that munis became disconnected to Treasuries. We saw a little fizzle in the equity rally and Treasuries came back, but there are still plenty of bid lists.”
Overall for the week this trader characterized it as “OK but not great” in terms of balances left on deals. “High-grade down saw sizeable concessions.”
Other traders said the market was also quiet Friday. “Munis are quiet but weak still,” a New York trader said. He added the market traded softer by a few basis points but there weren’t enough trades to make a strong conviction either way.
In the secondary market, trades compiled by data provider Markit showed a mix of strengthening and weakening.
Yields on California 4s of 2028 and Delaware 5s of 2020 jumped two basis points each to 3.52% and 1.79%, respectively. Yields on New York City Transitional Finance Authority 5s of 2020 also increased two basis points to 1.61%.
Still, other trades were stronger. Yields on Tennessee’s Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County 5s of 2020 dropped four basis points to 1.57% while New Jersey’s Tobacco Settlement Financing Corp. 4.75s of 2034 fell three basis points to 5.75%.
Yields on Arkansas 5s of 2020 and Gwinnett County, Ga., Water and Sewer Authority 5s of 2025 fell one basis point each to 1.51% and 2.27%, respectively.
Yields on municipal bond market scales ended flat to one basis point higher.
The Municipal Market Data triple-A GO scale ended steady. The 10-year and 30-year yields finished flat at 2.00% and 3.14%, respectively. The two-year finished flat at 0.31% for the 19th consecutive session.
Since the beginning of March, the 10-year MMD yield has climbed 22 basis points while the 30-year yield has jumped 24 basis points.
On Friday, yields on the Municipal Market Advisors 5% coupon triple-A benchmark scale were flat to one basis point higher. The 10-year and 30-year yields closed steady at 2.03% and 3.22%, respectively. The two-year held at 0.33% for the 14th session.
Since the start of the month, the 10-year MMA yield has spiked up 21 basis points while the 30-year yield has soared 24 basis points.
Treasuries were stronger Friday afternoon. The benchmark 10-year yield dropped four basis points to 2.00% while the 30-year yield fell two basis points to 3.22%. The two-year yield fell one basis point to 0.26%.
Looking to next week, $9.51 billion is expected to be priced, up from this week’s revised $6.08 billion.
On the negotiated calendar, $7.77 billion should be priced, up from this week’s revised $4.43 billion. On the competitive side, $1.74 billion is expected to be auctioned, up from this week’s revised $1.65 billion.
