Munis Slightly Stronger Ahead of $6.8B Calendar

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Top-shelf municipal bonds were slightly stronger around midday, as yields on some maturities were as much as one basis point lower according to traders.

Secondary Market

The 10-year benchmark muni general obligation yield was as much as one basis point lower from 2.33% on Friday, while the yield on the 30-year GO was down as much as one basis point from 3.06%, according to a read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.

U.S. Treasuries were stronger on Monday around midday. The yield on the two-year Treasury fell to 1.15% from 1.22% on Friday, while the 10-year Treasury yield was down to 2.39% from 2.46%, and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped to 2.98% from 3.03%.

The 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated at 94.5% on Friday compared to 91.9% on Thursday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 100.5%, versus 99.2%, according to MMD.

Previous Week's Top Underwriters

The top negotiated and competitive underwriters of last week included Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Stifel, RBC Capital Markets and Barclays, according to Thomson Reuters data.

In the week of Jan. 15 to Jan. 21, BAML underwrote $1.309 billion, Goldman $1.160 billion, Stifel $1.019 billion, RBC $908.3 million and Barclays $811.5 million.

Prior Week's Actively Traded Issues

Revenue bonds comprised 58.48% of new issuance in the week ended Jan. 20, down from 58.64% in the previous week, according to Markit. General obligation bonds comprised 36.03% of total issuance, down from 36.07%, while taxable bonds made up 5.49%, up from 5.29%.

Some of the most actively traded issues by type in the week ended Jan. 20 were from Texas, New York and Wisconsin, according to Markit.

In the GO bond sector, the Klein ISD, Texas, 4s of 2046 were traded 44 times. In the revenue bond sector, the New York Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority 5s of 2047 were traded 108 times. And in the taxable bond sector, the Wisconsin 3.954s of 2036 were traded 91 times.

MSRB: Previous Session's Activity

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 40,730 trades on Friday on volume of $11.266 billion.

Primary Market

Ipreo estimates volume for the new week at $6.8 billion, up from a revised $4.8 billion sold in the prior week, according to updated data from Thomson Reuters. The new week's slate consists of $4.7 billion of negotiated deals and $2.2 billion of competitive sales.

The action will get started on Tuesday, as there are no larger deals scheduled to price for institutions on Monday.

The biggest offering of the week is a negotiated deal from Baltimore. Citigroup is set to price the Mayor and City Council's $486 million of Series 2017A-C revenue bonds for water and wastewater projects on Thursday. The deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service and AA by S&P Global Ratings.

Next up is a $457.23 million competitive sale from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn. The Series 2017 unlimited tax general obligation bonds, which are selling on Tuesday, are rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by S&P.

RBC Capital Markets is set to price Philadelphia, Pa.'s $279.99 million of Series 2017 GO refunding bonds on Tuesday. The deal is rated A2 by Moody's, A-plus by S&P and A-minus by Fitch.

Bond Buyer Visible Supply

The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar increased $258.3 million to $10.83 billion on Monday. The total is comprised of $2.90 billion of competitive sales and $7.93 billion of negotiated deals.

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