Taylor Riggs

The municipal bond market opened the trading week on a typically slow Monday following a big rally last week that sucked all the bonds out of the secondary.

Trading in the tax-exempt market continued to remain subdued Monday afternoon as traders said they were waiting for the primary deals to provide direction.

State credit spreads have compressed across the curve over the last few years as investors move down in credit quality to pick up extra yield. With lower rated credits compressing and now trading on top of higher rated credits, many market participants think now is the time to exit those trades before spreads start widening.

Opening like a typical Monday morning, the municipal bond market was very quiet, taking a breather after a big rally last week.

The municipal bond market ended the first week of April on a strong note as munis followed Treasuries higher on a weaker than expected employment report.

The municipal bond market opened the first trading week of April on a strong note as primary deals were very well received and leftover balances were bought in the secondary markets Thursday and Friday.

Showing few signs of slowing, the municipal bond market continued to follow Treasuries higher even as the weekend approached.

The municipal bond market followed Treasuries' lead, firming as a weak employment report caused a surge in demand for safe-haven assets.

With the new issue pricings out of the way, the secondary took over the municipal bond market Thursday and climbed higher, following Treasuries.

The municipal bond market posted gains Thursday afternoon, following Treasuries, and yields fell across the curve.

After a flurry of big competitive deals in the primary market this week, the secondary market took the attention Thursday morning as traders said there was inventory out in the secondary.

After positive reception on Illinois general obligation bonds Tuesday, the municipal bond market happily received Pennsylvania GOs Wednesday as traders said the deal was well received.

Pennsylvania auctioned $950 million of general obligation bonds, which Bank of America Merrill Lynch won, and traders said the deal was very well received.

The tax-exempt market focused on the largest deal of the week - $950 million of Pennsylvania general obligation bonds - expected to be auctioned later Wednesday morning.

Municipal bond traders allowed Illinois' competitive auction to steal their attention Tuesday as they noted the market was very quiet outside that big deal.

The tax-exempt market focused on the Illinois auction in the competitive market while traders said outside that big deal, the rest of the market was quiet.

The secondary market took a backseat Tuesday morning as traders waited for the week's primary issuance to kick off.

The tax-exempt market ended as much as two basis points firmer Monday though traders noted activity was thin. Traders eyed the two largest deals of the week expected to be auctioned in the competitive market Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tax-exempts continued to be very thinly traded Monday afternoon, continuing what has been a trend over the past few weeks.

The municipal bond market was very quiet Monday morning, typical after a three-day holiday weekend where traders struggled to put money to work.