Economic indicators

The broader market awaits Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, but Thursday brought some helpful labor news — unemployment claims dropped to the lowest since before the pandemic-caused economic shutdowns and layoffs plunged in June.

Gilt-edged munis fell as much as two basis points Wednesday as the month ended and the first half stats were put into the record books.

The Board of Elections acknowledged a major error in Tuesday's update. Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council, meanwhile, are finalizing a $98.7 billion FY22 budget.

A majority of the week's largest new issues priced at yields mostly at or around benchmarks as secondary trading did little to move scales. In economic data released Tuesday, the June consumer confidence index climbed, suggesting spending will rebound.

With various Federal Reserve officials airing their views since the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest meeting, it may take a while for members to reach agreement on tapering, a boon for municipals.

Making it a summer Friday, munis were quiet. Participants contemplate why the market underperformed taxables to the degree they did when fundamentals are objectively strong and little has changed since before the FOMC.

The final new issues of the week close with some bumps in repricings while the secondary was quiet.

A volatile U.S. Treasury market and month-end positioning are pressuring municipal yield curves.

The Federal Reserve must be prepared to move if inflation continues to surprise to the upside, according to one Fed president, while another again stated a desire for the Fed to pull back on its accommodation.

Refinitiv Lipper's $1.85 billion of inflows say investors aren't going anywhere.