Primary bond market

Refinitiv Lipper reported a significant drop in municipal bond mutual fund inflows at $36 million in the latest week, a signal the volatility of other markets may be creeping in. High-yield saw $53 million of inflows.

The Investment Company Institute reported $974 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Nov. 23, down from $1.430 billion in the previous week.

Powell says the FOMC will consider ramping up tapering when more information about Omicron and its impacts are known, further flattening the UST yield curve.

Economists appear to be less concerned about Omicron, with some saying that even if the variant causes another pandemic wave, it is more likely to "slow rather than interrupt" the global economic recovery.

A majority of firms anticipate less volume in 2022 than the record hit in 2020, but how policies from Washington and the path of overall economic activity in a still-recovering global economy with COVID overhang make predicting volume more difficult.

ICI reported $1.43 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Nov. 17, down from $1.61 billion in the previous week.

The Thanksgiving holiday-shortened week, next-to-no supply and few economic data releases should keep munis steady.

Month over month, the municipal market is in a much better position, as heavy demand and flows continue to drive it.

The state will take a fresh dose of good rating news into the market when it competitively sells $400 million to fund pension buyouts and capital expenditures.

The Investment Company Institute reported $1.608 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Nov. 10, up from $657 million a week prior.