Market Post: Munis Stay Quiet Ahead of Competitive Deals

After a fairly quiet day Monday, the municipal bond market continued to see relatively subdued trading Tuesday morning.

Traders said the market looked rich and buyers were waiting for new deals to price.

"It's very quiet," a New York trader said. "People are waiting on the new deals, plus all the offerings have been bumped a bunch since the rally last week." He added the market is taking a breather until new bonds, which may come cheaper, hit the market.

The competitive market is expected to grab most of the attention Tuesday. New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority is expected to auction $243.34 million of revenue bonds in two pricings: $173 million and $70.34 million.

New York City Transitional Finance Authority is expected to auction $193.6 million of revenue bonds, rated Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service and AAA by Standard & Poor's.

Triple-A rated Wake County, N.C., should auction $176.5 million of general obligation bonds in two pricings: $125.3 million and $51.2 million.

In the negotiated market, Citi is expected to price $201 million of Lower Colorado River Authority transmission contract refunding revenue bonds, rated A2 by Moody's, A by Standard & Poor's, and A-plus by Fitch.

Municipal bond scales ended steady to one basis point firmer Monday after posting big gains late last week.

Yields on the Municipal Market Data triple-A GO scale ended flat. The 10-year yield and 30-year yield finished steady at 1.71% and 2.93%, respectively. The two-year also closed steady at 0.29% for the second session.

Yields on the Municipal Market Advisors 5% coupon triple-A benchmark scale ended as much as one basis point lower. The 30-year yield fell one basis point to 3.04%. The two-year and 10-year yields closed flat at 0.32% and 1.79%, respectively.

Treasuries were steady Tuesday morning after a small uptick in yields Monday. The benchmark 10-year and 30-year yields were flat at 1.74% and 2.91%, respectively. The two-year was steady at 0.23%.

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