Bond volume

Municipal bond volume is running 18.1% lower than last year’s historic level, in line with analyst expectations given the enormous impact the new tax legislation has had on the market.

Northeast municipal bond issuance sank 11.7% in the first half of 2018 compared to a year earlier, reflecting a national trend driven by federal tax changes.

For the first time this year, the municipal bond market generated more volume than it did in the same month of 2017, as July issuance edged 1.3% higher.

The summer lull, trade policy, the Fed, and the lack of a federal infrastructure plan all weigh against a recovery in muni volume this year.

Municipal volume isn't expected to meet growing demand in the remainder of 2018.

Municipal bond issuance reached $30 billion for the third straight month, as the market prepares for what is expected to be a slow summer.

New money deals helped issuance rise for the third straight month in May.

Monthly volume rose the highest in the year to date, as an increase in new-money deals partly offset a decline in refunding transactions.

Susan Courtney of PGIM Fixed Income navigates her muni team toward value in improving market.

Municipal bond volume picked up from February, prompting speculation that this year's drought in deals may soon ease.

With the deep cut in the corporate tax rate and rising interest rate, banks are rethinking their investments in municipal securities.

Declining volume and demand shifts won't stop the muni market from delivering positive returns in 2018, says Oppenheimer & Co.'s Jeffrey Lipton.

New money sales made up for a drop in refundings, pushing the region past $95 billion of volume.

The light month for long-term municipal bond volume is another ripple effect of the new tax law and the issuance rush leading up to its enactment.

Issuers across the Southeast sold $68.5 billion of bonds in 2017, a 5.8% year-over-year decrease.

Issuers in the Midwest sold $82.98 billion of debt last year, a 5% drop from 2016.

Municipal bond volume across the eight-state Southwest region in 2017 fell 9% below its 2016 record.

Long-term issuance in the municipal market virtually matched its record high set in 2016, against the backdrop of tax reform that produced an end-of-year flood of volume, but the outlook for 2018 is less rosy.

Northeast municipal bond issuance was up 4% from 2016 to $121.3 billion.

Municipal bond volume evaporated in January, as the market felt the aftereffect of federal tax legislation that pulled issuance forward into 2017.