Finance

The record pace of municipal bond supply this year is driven in part by cities and states realizing projects won't get any cheaper if they wait.

The competitive sale comes as the market prepares for a very New York-heavy week next week in the primary.

For municipals, Wednesday "marks a crucial step forward, perfectly aligned with the current risk landscape," said James Pruskowski, chief investment officer for 16Rock Asset Management.

Fed rate cuts "should lead to positive price action for both taxable and tax-exempt bonds, and current nominal yields remain well above where they were when the Fed was more dovish, implying generous room to rally from here," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics, Inc.

Despite the underperformance to USTs, munis saw positive momentum during the first two weeks of September with the asset class returning 0.68% so far this month and 1.99% year-to-date.

While supply falls next week as investors await their first Fed rate cut in four years, it should pick up after the FOMC, Barclays PLC said, adding the 30-day visible pipeline "is at relatively manageable levels at the moment." Bond Buyer 30-day visible supply is at $10.09 billion.

Municipal bond mutual funds saw inflows as investors added $1.258 billion to funds — the second-largest inflow figure year-to-date after $1.413 billion of inflows for the week ending Jan. 31.

Moodys says it is placing additional weight on the states' Aaa ratings in determining the Garvee ratings.

The commission approved $73 million of limited obligation bonds for Rowan County schools.

The August consumer price index showed inflation remains above the Federal Reserve's target level and makes a 50-basis-point rate cut next week unlikely, economists said. Further, many expect the market will be disappointed going forward, as future cuts will likely be shallower than expected.