Munis flat as primary turns quiet

Top-rated municipal bonds were unchanged at mid-session, according to traders, as primary action dwindled to a last few deals for the week. Traders were eyeing yields, which have been slowly trending lower over the past month.

Secondary market
The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation was unchanged from 1.86% on Tuesday, while the 30-year GO yield was steady from 2.71%, according to a read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.

Treasuries were narrowly mixed on Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury rose to 1.33% from 1.32% on Tuesday, the 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 2.13% from 2.14% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond decreased to 2.74% from 2.75%.

On Tuesday, the 10-year muni-to-Treasury ratio was calculated at 87.1%, compared with 87.2% on Monday, while the 30-year muni-to-Treasury ratio stood at 98.7% versus 99.3%, according to MMD.

MMD yields show little change in August
Municipal bond yields have shown little change since Aug. 1, according to data taken from the MMD benchmark scale on the 10-year and 30-year muni bond. Yields have moved slightly lower over the past 29 days.

On Aug. 29, the 10-year stood at 1.86%, nine basis points lower than the read of 1.95% on Aug. 1.

Similar results were recorded for the 30-year muni over the course of the month.

On Aug. 29, the 30-year stood at 2.71%, three basis points lower than the read of 2.74% on Aug. 1.

BB-083117-MUN

MSRB: Previous session's activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 33,836 trades on Tuesday on volume of $8.88 billion.

Primary market
The sector winds down as there are no major bond sales slated for sale on Wednesday.

In the short-term competitive arena, the South Carolina Association of Governmental Organizations sold $131.1 million of certificates of participation in two separate offerings.

The $114.95 million of Series 2017D tax-exempt COPs are going out for the bid in the afternoon.

Jefferies won the $17.15 million of Series 2017C taxable COPs with a bid of 2% and a premium of $42,184.08, an effective rate of 1.446931%.

The SCAGO COPs are rated Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service.

On Thursday, Goldman Sachs is expected to price the Southern California Public Power Authority’s $107.86 million of Series 2017-1 refunding revenue bonds for Magnolia Power Project A.

The deal, which consists of mandatory put bonds, is rated AA-minus by Fitch Ratings.

Bond Buyer reports 30-day visible supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar decreased $4.91 billion to $5.36 billion on Wednesday. The total is comprised of $2.82 billion of competitive sales and $2.53 billion of negotiated deals.

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