Top-rated municipal bonds were flat in early activity, traders said, with participants prepared for yet another huge issuance week, as an estimated $16.5 billion will be coming through the pipeline.
Secondary Market
The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation on Monday was flat from 1.72% on Friday, while the yield on the 30-year was unchanged at 2.54%, according to a read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
U.S. Treasuries were mixed on Monday. The yield on the two-year was unchanged from 0.82% on Friday, the 10-year Treasury yield was flat at 1.73% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond increased to 2.49% from 2.48%.
On Friday, the 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated at 99.1% compared to 98.6% on Thursday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 102.0% versus 101.7%, according to MMD.
MSRB: Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 33,299 trades on Friday on volume of $10.41 billion.
Prior Week's Actively Traded Issues
Revenue bonds comprised 57.99% of new issuance in the week ended Oct. 21, up from 57.85% in the previous week, according to Markit. General obligation bonds comprised 36.60% of total issuance, down from 36.63%, while taxable bonds made up 5.41%, down from 5.52%.
Some of the most actively traded issues by type were from Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. In the GO bond sector, the Connecticut 3.375s of 2036 were traded 63 times. In the revenue bond sector, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority 3s of 2032 were traded 46 times. And in the taxable bond sector, the Commonwealth Financing Authority of Pennsylvania 4.144s of 2038 were traded 49 times.
Previous Week's Top Underwriters
The top negotiated and competitive underwriters of last week included Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Securities and RBC Capital Markets, according to Thomson Reuters data. In the week of Oct. 16-Oct. 22, Citi underwrote $3.38 billion, BAML $2.83 billion, Morgan Stanley $2.01 billion, Wells Fargo $1.74 billion and RBC $1.29 billion.
Primary Market
Volume for the week of Oct. 28 is forecast by Ipreo at $16.5 billion. The upcoming slate is composed of $13.71 billion of negotiated bond deals and $2.79 billion of competitive bond sales.
Most of the issuance is set to come on Wednesday, as five negotiated deals larger than $200 million and five competitive sales of greater than $100 million are expected to price.
The action will get started on Tuesday, as Bank of America Merrill Lynch is expected to price Piedmont, Ga., Healthcare Project Development Authority's $429 million of Fulton County revenue, the Hospital Authority of Clarket County revenue certificates of anticipation and Hospital Authority of Fayette County revenue certificates of anticipation. The deal is rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service and AA-minus by S&P Global Ratings.
Wells Fargo is expected to price the Commonwealth of Virginia Transportation Board's $317.13 million of federal transportation grant anticipation note.
RBC Capital Markets is on the docket to price Butler County, Ohio's $210 million of hospital facilities revenue bonds. The deal is rated A2 by Moody's and A by S&P.
The city and county of Denver, Colorado will be selling $115 million of wastewater enterprise revenue bonds competitively. The deal is Aa1 by Moody's, triple-A by S&P and Fitch Ratings.
Bond Buyer Visible Supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar increased $3.72 billion to $20.72 billion on Monday. The total is comprised of $3.72 billion of competitive sales and $17.00 billion of negotiated deals.