Market Post: Bid Side Looks to Soak Up Inventory in Secondary

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.

"There was some buying this morning and there is still a bid side, but I thought it would be busier after yesterday," a New York trader said. "Even though Treasuries spiked up this morning there was no follow-through from yesterday."

This trader added there are still some bonds out in the secondary. "Munis finally had a good couple of days but there is still a lot of inventory out there in the secondary."

In the remainder of the primary market, Raymond James is expected to price $103.6 million of Board of Supervisors for LSU University and Mechanical College auxiliary revenue bonds, rated A1 by Moody's Investors Service and AA-minus by Standard & Poor's.

Municipal bond scales ended as much as three basis points firmer Wednesday in a mixed week so far. Munis posted gains Monday and were weaker Tuesday.

Yields on the Municipal Market Data triple-A GO scale ended as much as three basis points lower. The 10-year yield fell three basis points to 1.86% and the 30-year yield slid two basis points to 3.07%. The two-year finished flat at 0.31% for the 31st consecutive session.

Yields on the Municipal Market Advisors 5% coupon triple-A benchmark scale also ended as much as three basis points lower. The 10-year yield dropped three basis points to 1.92% and the 30-year yield fell two basis points to 3.17%. The two-year held at 0.33% for the 26th session.

Treasuries continued to post gains on fears over North Korea. The benchmark 10-year yield and the 30-year yield slid three basis points each to 1.78% and 3.02%, respectively. The two-year was steady at 0.23%.

In economic news, initial jobless claims rose 28,000 to 385,000 in the week ending March 30, the highest level in five months. Claims came in above economists' expectations of 357,000.

"Jobless claims in the Easter/Passover holiday week can be notoriously volatile and difficult to seasonally adjust because of the moving feast nature of the holiday and the Bureau of Labor Statistics specifically noted the problems adjusting claims during this period in its comments," wrote economists at RDQ Economics. "We focus on the four-week average of claims and this rose to 354,250 from 343,000, but this is well below the average during the February payroll survey week when it stood at 362,250. Our forecast continues to be for a 190,000 increase in total payrolls which, if realized, would probably be viewed by the markets as an upside surprise."

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