The municipal bond market was winding up the new supply calendar on Thursday as competitive sales from Tennessee and Florida issuers are set to come to market.
Primary Market
On Thursday, Shelby County, Tenn., will sell a $172.665 million general obligation refunding bond issue in a competitive sale. The deal is rated Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service and AA-plus by both Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.
Also on Thursday, the Florida Department of Management Services is putting up for bid $103.175 million of refunding certificates of participation. The COPs are rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P and Fitch.
On Wednesday, Barclays Capital priced the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York's $1 billion general purpose state personal income tax revenue bonds for institutional investors after a one-day retail order period on Tuesday. The bonds were rated triple-A by S&P and AA-plus by Fitch.
The Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System came to market with $383.76 million in two separate issues, tax-exempt and taxable revenue financing system bonds. Citigroup Global Markets priced the $206.825 million tax-exempts while J.P. Morgan Securities priced the $176.93 million taxables. The bonds were rated triple-A by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P and Fitch.
Citi priced the Oregon Department of Administrative Services' $399.5 million lottery revenue bonds in five series of tax exempts and tax-exempt refundings. The issue was rated Aa2 by Moody's and triple-A by S&P.
Citi also priced the Broward County, Fla., School Board's $253.56 million COPs. The issue was rated A1 by Moody's, A by S&P and A-plus by Fitch except for the 2027 and 2028 maturities, which are insured by AGM and rated A2 by Moody's and AA by S&P.
Secondary Market
Treasury prices were lower on Thursday, with the two-year note yield up to 0.63% from 0.62% on Wednesday. The 10-year yield rose to 2.00% from 1.96%, while the 30-year yield increased to 2.56% from 2.52%.
On Wednesday, prices of top-quality municipal bonds were unchanged after rallying strongly on Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year general obligation remained at 1.89%, while the yield on 30-year GOs was flat at 2.67%, according to the final read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
The 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was at 96.4% on Wednesday compared to 96.4% on Tuesday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio was at 106.0% versus 106.0%.
MSRB Reports Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 39,743 trades on Wednesday on volume of $10.111 billion.
Most active on Wednesday, based on the number of trades, was the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority transportation program bonds, Series AA 4 1/4s of 2044, which traded 125 times with an average price of 102.351 and an average yield of 3.949%.
