Top-shelf municipal bonds were steady at mid-session, traders said, as the last of the week's big new issues were hitting the market on Thursday.
Secondary Market
The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation was unchanged from 1.42% on Wednesday, while the yield on the 30-year muni was flat from 2.15%, according to a read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
Treasuries turned weaker on Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury rose to 0.71% from 0.69% on Wednesday, the 10-year Treasury yield gained to 1.54% from 1.51% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond increased to 2.26% from 2.23%.
On Wednesday, the 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated at 94.0% compared to 93.9% on Tuesday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 96.4% versus 96.6%, according to MMD.
MSRB: Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 35,102 trades on Wednesday on volume of $13.52 billion.
Primary Market
In the competitive arena, Citigroup won the Florida Board of Education's $198.44 million of Series 2016E public education capital outlay bonds with a true interest cost of 2.49%.
The issue was priced to yield from 0.45% with a 5% coupon in 2017 to 2.83% with a 2.75% coupon in 2037; a 2039 maturity was priced as 2 3/4s to yield 2.86%, a 2041 maturity was priced as 2 3/4s to yield 2.90% and a 2046 maturity was priced as 3s to yield 2.95%.
The deal is rated Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service and triple-A by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch won Milwaukee, Wis.' $100 million of Series 2016S7 sewerage system revenue bonds with a TIC of 2.37%.
The issue was priced to yield from 0.55% with a 5% coupon in 2017 to 2.69% with a 3% coupon in 2033; a 2036 maturity was priced as 3s to yield 2.84%. The deal is rated AA-minus by S&P and AA by Fitch.
In the negotiated sector, BAML is expected to price the Michigan State Housing Development Authority's $162 million of Series 2016A non-AMT and Series 2016B taxable rental housing revenue bonds. The deal is rated AA by S&P.
Since 2006, the authority has sold $3.13 billion of securities, with the largest issuance coming in 2007 when it offered $916 million. After hitting a low in 2012 with just $11.1 million issued, the MSHDA has increased its issuance every year.
Wells Fargo Securities is set to price the Utah Transit Authority's $142.13 million of sales tax revenue refunding bonds consisting of serials and CABs. The deal is rated A1 by Moody's Investors Service, A-plus by S&P and AA by Fitch Ratings.
Boenning & Scattergood is expected to price the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, Pa.'s $115 million of sewer revenue bonds. The deal is rated A1 by Moody's and A by S&P.
Piper Jaffray received the official award on the Johnson County Unified School District No. 223, Kan.'s $326.94 million of Series 2016A general obligation school bonds and Series 2016B GO refunding bonds.
The $129.07 million of Series 2016A GOs were price to yield from 0.62% with a 2% coupon in 2017 to 2.62% with a 4% coupon in 2036. The $197.87 million of Series 2016B GO refunding bonds were priced to yield from 0.89% with a 2% coupon in 2019 to 2.53% with a 4% coupon in 2033. The deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by S&P.
Bond Buyer Visible Supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar decreased $2.45 billion to $7.38 billion on Thursday. The total is comprised of $3 billion of competitive sales and $4.38 billion of negotiated deals.
Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund Outflows
Tax-exempt money market funds experienced outflows of $4.45 billion, bringing total net assets to $179.71 billion in the week ended Aug. 8, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com. This followed an outflow of $1.76 billion to $184.16 billion in the previous week.
The average, seven-day simple yield for the 271 weekly reporting tax-exempt funds was unchanged from 0.08% in the previous week.
The total net assets of the 889 weekly reporting taxable money funds decreased $6.09 billion to $2.528 trillion in the week ended Aug. 9, after an inflow of $14.64 billion to $2.534 trillion the prior before.
The average, seven-day simple yield for the taxable money funds remained at 0.11% from the week before.
Overall, the combined total net assets of the 1,160 weekly reporting money funds fell $10.54 billion to $2.708 trillion in the period ended Aug. 9, which followed an inflow of $12.88 billion to $2.718 trillion.
