Bond Buyer Indexes Fall This Week

The Bond Buyer's 20-Bond GO Index of 20-year general obligation yields dropped 10 basis points this week, to 3.94%. This is the lowest level for the index since Aug. 10, 1967, when it was also 3.94%. The index now has declined or remained unchanged for 10 consecutive weeks, declining a total of 75 basis points from its most recent high of 4.69% on July 23, 2009.
 
The 11-Bond GO Index of higher-grade 20-year GO yields also dropped 10 basis points, to 3.69%. This is the lowest the index has been since April 27, 1967, when it was 3.61%. The index has dropped or been unchanged every week for the past nine weeks, falling a cumulative 72 basis points from its most recent high of 4.41% on July 30, 2009.
 
The Revenue Bond Index, which measures 30-year revenue bond yields, declined 17 basis points this week, to 4.69%. This is the lowest level for the index since Jan. 17, 2008, when it was 4.63%. The index has now declined eight weeks in a row, for a total loss of 99 basis points from its most recent high of 5.68% on Aug. 6, 2009.
 
The yield on the U.S. Treasury's 10-year note declined 18 basis points this week, to 3.20%, which is the lowest it has been since May 14, 2009 (20 weeks ago), when it was 3.11%.
 
The yield on the Treasury's 30-year bond fell 20 basis points this week, to 3.97%, which is the lowest it has been since April 23, 2009 (23 weeks ago), when it was 3.80%.
 
The Bond Buyer's One-Year Note Index, which is based on one-year tax-exempt yields, was unchanged at its all-time low of 0.56%. The index began on July 12, 1989.