Top-shelf municipal bonds were weaker at mid-session, traders said, ahead of the upcoming week's rather manageable new issue calendar.
Ipreo estimates volume for next week at $5.6 billion, down from a revised total of $7.7 billion this week, according to updated figures from Thomson Reuters. The calendar is comprised of $4.1 billion of negotiated deals and $1.5 billion of competitive sales.
Secondary Market
The 10-year benchmark muni general obligation yield was as much as one basis point higher from 2.28% on Thursday, while the yield on the 30-year GO increased as much as one basis point from 3.06%, according to a read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
U.S. Treasuries were weaker on Friday. The yield on the two-year Treasury rose to 1.19% from 1.18% on Thursday, while the 10-year Treasury gained to 2.42% from 2.39%, and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond increased to 3.03% from 3.01%.
On Thursday, the 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated at 95.2% compared to 95.9% on Wednesday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 101.6%, versus 102.4%, according to MMD.
MSRB: Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 40,094 trades on Thursday on volume of $14.37 billion.
Week's Most Actively Traded Issues
Some of the most actively traded issues by type in the week ended Feb. 10 were from New York and California, according to
In the GO bond sector, the New York City 5s of 2028 were traded 57 times. In the revenue bond sector, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority 2s of 2017 were traded 106 times. And in the taxable bond sector, the California 7.55s of 2039 were traded 17 times.
Week's Most Actively Quoted Issues
Oregon and California names were among the most actively quoted bonds in the week ended Feb. 10, according to Markit.
On the bid side, the Portland, Ore., taxable 6.046s of 2020 were quoted by 374 unique dealers. On the ask side, the Los Angeles Unified School District, Calif., 5.755s of 2029 were quoted by 73 unique dealers. And among two-sided quotes, the California taxable 7.55s of 2039 were quoted by 25 unique dealers.
Primary Market
Bank of America dominates the negotiated sector in the week ahead.
Headlining the supply slate will be San Francisco Bay Area Toll Authority, Calif.'s $552 million of Series 2017A, B, C & D toll bridge term- and index-rate revenue bonds.
BAML is set to price the deal on Tuesday. The bonds are rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service and AA by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.
BAML is also expected to price the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission of Pennsylvania and New Jersey's $438 million of Series 2017 bridge system revenue bonds on Tuesday after a one-day retail order period on Monday. The deal is rated A1 by Moody's, A by S&P and A-plus by Fitch.
And BAML is expected to price the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $350 million of Series 2017A dedicated tax fund green bonds which are climate bond certified. The issue is slated to be priced on Wednesday after a one-day retail order period on Tuesday. The deal is rated AA by S&P and Fitch.
Additionally, BAML is set to price the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority's $210 million of Series 2017 Subseries A-1, A-2 (AMT) A-4 and A05 housing mortgage finance program bonds. The deal is rated triple-A by Moody's and S&P.
In the competitive arena, the Long Beach Unified School District, Calif., is selling $450 million of general obligation bonds in two separate sales on Tuesday.
The offerings consist of $300 million of election of 2016 Series A unlimited tax GOs and $150 million of election of 2016 Series E unlimited tax GOs. The deals are rated Aa2 by Moody's and triple-A by Fitch.
The Las Vegas Valley Water District, Nev., is selling $152.77 million of GOs in two separate sales on Tuesday. The offerings consist of $129.33 million of Series 2017A limited tax GO water refunding bonds additionally secured by pledged revenue and $23.44 million of Series 2017B limited tax GO water refunding bonds additionally secured by SNWA pledged revenue. The deals are rated Aa1 by Moody's and AA by S&P.
Bond Buyer Visible Supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar increased $2.86 billion to $9.35 billion on Friday. The total is comprised of $2.88 billion of competitive sales and $6.47 billion of negotiated deals.
Lipper: Muni Bond Funds Report Inflows
Municipal bond funds attracted inflows again as investors continued their return to the market, according to Lipper data released late Thursday. The weekly reporters saw $304.200 million of inflows in the week ended Feb. 8, after inflows of $14.047 million in the previous week.
The four-week moving average remained in the green at positive $209.241 million, after being positive at $376.734 million in the previous week. A moving average is an analytical tool used to smooth out price changes by filtering out fluctuations.
Long-term muni bond funds also had inflows, gaining $274.984 million in the latest week after gaining $17.375 million in the previous week. Intermediate-term funds had inflows of $60.887 million after inflows of $18.018 million in the prior week.
National funds had inflows of $293.215 million after inflows of $31.490 million in the previous week. High-yield muni funds reported inflows of $286.427 million in the latest reporting week, after inflows of $187.718 million the previous week.
Exchange traded funds saw outflows of $62.055 million, after outflows of $70.187 million in the previous week.
