NEW YORK – The tax-exempt market was steady again on Friday, ending a week that saw flat yields for every trading session. Yields remain near record lows, and traders continue to move out on the yield curve and down the credit scale in search for yield.
“I did not trade any munis this week,” an Atlanta trader said. “But we bought a lot on a closed-end fund this week that will invest in long term munis with an average credit of A-minus. And inflows were over $500 million.”
Munis were steady for the fifth consecutive trading session Friday, according to the Municipal Market Data scale.
On Thursday, [http://www.bondbuyer.com/issues/121_125/muni-market-column-1041367-1.html] the 10-year yield ended flat at 1.86% for the 10th trading session while the two-year ended steady at 0.32% for the 20th straight session. The 30-year yield finished flat at 3.16% for the fifth session.
Treasuries continued to weaken Friday afternoon. The benchmark 10-year yield jumped eight basis points to 1.66% while the 30-year yield spiked nine basis points to 2.76%. The two-year yield rose one basis point to 0.32%.
In next week’s primary market, $57.1 million is expected to come to market, down from this week’s revised $7.86 billion. In the negotiated market, $12 million is on the calendar, down from this week’s revised $6.29 billion. On the competitive side, $39.7 million is expected to be priced, down from this week’s revised $1.57 billion.
