The municipal market was quiet and unchanged Friday, with a slightly firmer tone, in light trading activity."It's quiet," a trader in New York said. "We might be picking up a basis point or two here and there, but overall, there's not much movement, and there's not much trading. It's just a quiet Friday."
"There's not a whole lot of activity going on," a trader in Los Angeles said. "We should be doing better with Treasuries doing better. But I don't think there are enough people around to really make a difference so I would really have to call the market as mostly unchanged. If anything, you might be able to say that it's one or two basis points better because Governments are better. But there's not a lot of activity really to prove that."
Trades reported by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Friday showed little movement. A dealer sold to a customer California's Oakland Unified School District 6.125s of 2029 at 6.20%, even with where they traded Thursday.
A dealer bought from a customer New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority 5s of 2034 at 5.11%, even with where they traded Thursday.
A dealer sold to a customer Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Authority 5.25s of 2027 at 5.45%, even with where they were sold Thursday.
A dealer sold to a customer insured Indianapolis Local Public Improvement Bond Bank 5.25s of 2029 at 5.34%, even with where they were sold Thursday.
The Treasury market showed gains Friday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which opened at 3.61%, finished at 3.48%. The yield on the two-year note finished at 1.12% after opening at 1.17%. The yield on the 30-year bond, which opened at 4.41%, finished at 4.30%.
As of Thursday's close, the triple-A muni scale in 10 years was at 82.7% of comparable Treasuries, according to Municipal Market Data.
Additionally, 30-year munis were 105.4% of comparable Treasuries. As of Thursday's close, 30-year tax-exempt triple-A general obligation bonds were at 109.1% of the comparable London Interbank Offered Rate.
In economic data released Friday, advanced second quarter gross domestic product fell 1.0% after a revised 6.4% decline the previous quarter. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted a 1.5% drop.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer rose to 43.4 in July from 39.9 in June. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 43.0 reading for the indicator.
Activity in the new-issue market was light Friday.
