NEW YORK — The tax-exempt market seems to have one foot out the door.
The primary and secondary markets, displaying all of the energy of a recently fed snake, quietly crossed into the afternoon with little activity to show for themselves. Muni yields continue to stagnate, as buyers and sellers pick over the meager product.
“We’re really not seeing any buying or selling,” a trader in New York said. “It seems like we’re headed for an early close. The market hasn’t moved an inch. It couldn’t handle a lot of selling pressure, but I don’t know where that would even come from.”
Tax-exempt yields have yet to be updated from the morning’s Municipal Market Data scale read, when they were steady across the curve.
The two-year, 10-year and the 30-year triple-A yields each closed Wednesday’s session flat, at 0.33%, 1.83% and 3.14%, respectively.
Treasury yields have gently started to lift. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield has risen three basis points to 1.78%.
The 30-year yield has skipped up two basis points to 2.86%. The two-year yield has inched up to 0.31%.
Traders see this week as a shortened one, as an early close that appears to have settled over desks Thursday is recommended for Friday ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. The industry still predicts primary issuance numbers for the week will be up significantly. Muni volume predictions hold that $9.19 billion will reach the market, compared with $6.83 billion that turned up last week.
Next week, supply is going to be light, the New York trader added.
“Frankly, the market is assuming that June is going to be a big supply month,” he said. “It’s a monstrous redemption month. It’s unclear to most people how that is going to resolve itself, who’s going to win that battle. The cash flow’s coming; the supply is still uncertain.”
