Municipal bond yields were steady Thursday afternoon as the value of Treasuries weakened following a weekly U.S. jobless claims report.
Initial claims for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell 3,000 to 336,000 in the week ending Feb. 15, a drop consistent with what economists had predicted. The previous week's figure of 339,000 was not revised.
The four-week average of claims climbed to 338,500, 6,250 higher than this time last month.
Treasury yields were higher Thursday morning, led by the two-year yield, which climbed three basis points to 0.34%. The benchmark 30-year Treasury was up three basis point to 3.73%, while the 10-year climbed four basis points to 2.77%.
Yields on muni bonds were steady throughout the curve into the afternoon, according to Municipal Market Data.
In the negotiated market, Morgan Stanley held institutional pricing for MTA bonds that took retail orders on Wednesday. Yields on the bonds offered Thursday fell by two to three basis points from retail pricing.
Citigroup Global Markets won the bid for $140.2 million of Oyster Bay, New York bonds in the competitive market. The bonds, rated A-minus by Standard & Poor's, carry a AA-minus rating from Assured Guaranty.
Yields on the bonds ranged from 0.25% with a 3% coupon in 2015 to 3.75% with a 4% coupon in 2028.
A lack of new money available in the marketplace has kept trading activity muted as Puerto Rico bonds continue to play a large role in market activity as the government there looks to prove its stability.
"MSRB trading volume was moderate Wednesday at $7.3 billion, and Puerto Rico trailed only NY, CA and TX in the level of trading activity," Janney Capital Markets said in a report Thursday morning.
