Municipal bonds were unchanged to slightly weaker at mid-session, according to traders, as all eyes were fixed on the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later in the afternoon.
The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, the first rate hike since June 29, 2006.
Secondary Market
The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation was as much as one basis point stronger from 1.98% on Tuesday, while the 30-year yield was steady from 2.89%, according to a read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
U.S. Treasury bonds were lower on Wednesday as the yield on the two-year inched up to 0.99% from 0.97% on Tuesday, while the 10-year yield gained to 2.30% from 2.27% and the 30-year Treasury increased to 3.01% from 3.00%.
The 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated on Tuesday at 86.7% compared to 87.4% on Monday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 96.3% compared to 95.9%, according to MMD.
Primary Market
There was not much action in the new issue arena on Wednesday as the market paused ahead of the FOMC announcement at 2 p.m., EST.
On Thursday, Barclays Capital is slated to price the Utah Housing Corp.'s $100 million of Series 2015D single-family mortgage bonds. The deal is rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service.
Since 2005, the UHC has issued $2.69 billion of debt. The years of 2005 and 2009 saw the most issuance with $363 million and $407 million, respectively. The years of 2011 and 2012 were low years, when the UHC issued $35 million and $61 million, respectively. The UHC has been to market an average of 15.3 times per year since 2005.
MSRB Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 36,086 trades on Tuesday on volume of $7.66 billion.
Bond Buyer Visible Supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar fell $1.05 billion to $3.33 billion on Wednesday. The total is comprised of $929 million competitive sales and $2.40 billion of negotiated deals.
