Nearly all The Bond Buyer’s weekly yield indexes declined this week, finishing off a mostly-firmer period with hints of weakness.
“The muni market’s been running pretty nicely, but today is the first day you’re starting to see some of a headwind,” Evan Rourke, portfolio manager at Eaton Vance, said Thursday.
“We’re starting to get to a point where there’s a little bit of exhaustion going on,” he said. “People are more inclined to take a pause. We’ve had a nice run this month.”
The Bond Buyer 20-bond index of 20-year general obligation bond yields declined five basis points this week to 4.21%. That is the lowest the index has been since 31 weeks ago on Dec. 23, 2009, when it was also 4.21%.
The 11-bond index of higher-grade 20-year GO yields dropped three basis points this week to 3.94%, which is the lowest level for the index since Dec. 23, 2009, when it was 3.93%.
The revenue bond index, which measures 30-year revenue bond yields, rose two basis points this week to 4.80%. That is the highest level for the index since four weeks ago on July 1, when it was 4.84%.
The Bond Buyer one-year note index, which is based on one-year tax-exempt note yields, declined six basis points this week to 0.48%, which is its lowest level since eight weeks ago on June 2, when it was 0.47%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note increased seven basis points this week to 3.00%. That is the highest the yield has been since three weeks ago on July 8, when it was 3.02%.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond gained 13 basis points this week to 4.08%. That is the highest the yield has been since five weeks ago on June 24, when it was 4.09%.
The weekly average yield to maturity on The Bond Buyer’s 40-bond municipal bond index, which is based on 40 long-term municipal bond prices, declined one basis point this week to 5.11%.
It is the lowest weekly average for the yield to maturity since seven weeks ago, the week ended June 10, when it was 5.10%.
