The tax-exempt market continued to post small gains Tuesday after a steady to firmer session on Monday as buyers eyed shorter maturing bonds.
"It's actually a bit busy with buyers on the front-end," a New York trader said, adding the tone in the general market was steady to slightly firmer.
The new issue calendar is light this week. One of the largest deals is expected to price in the competitive market later on Tuesday. South Carolina should auction $146.4 million of general obligation bonds in three pricings: $85 million, $26.5 million, and $34.9 million. The bonds are rated triple-A by Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings and AA-plus by Standard & Poor's.
On Monday, the triple-A Municipal Market Data scale ended as much as one basis point stronger after posting gains on Friday. The 30-year yield slid one basis point to 4.13%. The 10-year was steady for the third session at 2.66% and the two-year closed unchanged for the eighth session at 0.33%.
Yields on the Municipal Market Advisors benchmark scale ended steady to one basis point firmer. The two-year and 30-year yields fell one basis point each to 0.37% and 4.36%, respectively. The 10-year was steady at 2.72%.
Treasuries were stronger for a second session. The benchmark 10-year and 30-year yields slid two basis points each to 2.72% and 3.81%, respectively. The two-year yield fell one basis point to 0.29%.
