Municipal bonds were stronger at mid-session, traders said, as yields on most top-rated maturities weakened by as much as one basis point.
Secondary Market
The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation was as much as one basis point weaker from to 1.97% on Wednesday, while the 30-year yield was off as much as one basis point from 2.89%, according to a read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
Treasuries were lower, as the yield on the two-year Treasury rose to 0.94% from 0.92% on Wednesday while the 10-year Treasury yield gained to 2.23% from 2.20% and the 30-year increased to 2.97% from 2.96%.
The 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated on Wednesday at 89.3% compared to 88.5% on Tuesday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 97.6% compared to 97.5%, according to MMD.
Primary Market
Wells Fargo Securities received the official award on the Water Replenishment District of Southern California's $208.26 million of Series 2015 water revenue bonds.
The issue was priced as 5s to yield from 0.78% in 2018 to 2.24% in 2028; a 2040 term bond was priced as 5s to yield 2.86% and a 2045 term was priced as 4s to yield 3.32%.
The deal was rated Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service, triple-A by Standard & Poor's and AA-plus by Fitch Ratings.
RBC Capital Markets priced the Park Creek Metropolitan District, Colo.'s $231.17 million of Series 2015A senior limited property tax supported revenue refunding bonds.
The issue was priced to yield from 0.92% with a 2% coupon in 2016 to 3.82% with a 5% coupon in 2035; a 2045 term bond was priced as 5s to yield 4%.
The bonds were rated triple-B by Fitch.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch priced the city of Columbus, Ohio's $155.61 million of Series 2015 sewerage system revenue refunding bonds.
The issue was priced as 5s to yield 2.50% in 2029, at par to yield 3% and as 5s to yield 2.57% in a split 2030 maturity and as 3s to yield 3.17% and as 5s to yield 2.67% in a split 2032 maturity.
The bonds were rated Aa1 by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P.
"Demand for the week's new issue slate has been strong," Alan Schankel, Municipal Strategist at Janney, wrote on a Thursday comment. "Issues such as $343 million Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (Aa3/AA-minus/AA-minus) and $325 million NYC MTA (A1/AA-minus/A) have been well received, with yield reductions of as much as five basis points on the way to final pricing."
Tax-Exempt Money Market Funds Post Inflows
Tax-exempt money market funds experienced inflows of $3.22 billion, bringing total net assets to $249.52 billion in the period ended Dec. 7, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com. This followed an inflow of $617.9 million to $246.30 billion in the previous week.
The average, seven-day simple yield for the 373 weekly reporting tax-exempt funds remained at 0.01% for the 136th straight week.
The total net assets of the 950 weekly reporting taxable money funds rose $15.57 billion to $2.519 trillion in the period ended Dec. 8, after an outflow of $2.65 billion to $2.504 trillion the previous week.
The average, seven-day simple yield for the taxable money funds remained at 0.02% for the 47th week in a row.
Overall, the combined total net assets of the 1,323 weekly reporting money funds increased $18.79 billion to $2.769 trillion in the period ended Dec. 8, which followed an outflow of $2.03 billion to $2.750 trillion the week before.
MSRB Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 38,632 trades on Wednesday on volume of $10.64 million.
Bond Buyer Visible Supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar fell $1.76 billion to $5.15 billion on Thursday. The total is comprised of $777.7 million competitive sales and $4.37 billion of negotiated deals.
