Markets

U.S. inflationary pressures were down in March, as the U.S. future inflation gauge decreased to 113.2 from a 113.5 reading in February, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

March payrolls came in well below expectations, while the unemployment rate fell below what most policymakers consider full employment. Weather likely played a role pulling down retail employment again last month.

The weekly average yield to maturity of The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, rose one basis point to 4.23% from the previous week's 4.22%.

Municipal bonds ended stronger on Thursday as the last big deals of the week hit the muni market, led by the institutional pricings of the large Massachusetts and California offerings.

KeyBanc Capital Markets added to its fixed income team with the addition of Chris O’Neil and Jeffrey Tucker to the securitized products sale team.

Newly issued Treasury securities held in stripped form increased about $85 million in March to a total of $241.146 billion, the Bureau of the Public Debt reported Monday.

Energy Northwest is preparing to price $592 million of revenue and refunding bonds.

Municipal bonds were trading stronger at mid-session as the largest deal of the week hit the municipal bond market.

The largest deal of the week hit the municipal bond market early on Thursday with the institutional pricing of Massachusetts’ general obligation bond offering.

Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell by 25,000 to a five-week low of 234,000 in the week ended April 1, well below the 250,000 level analysts expected, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed.