Primary bond market

An Oklahoma agency is borrowing $1.15 billion through an unrated tax-exempt Public Finance Authority bond deal to build and equip a tire factory backed by Finnish interests.

Municipal bond issuance for the week of March 24 is at $7.923 billion, with $6.673 billion of negotiated deals and $1.251 billion of competitive deals on tap.

Separately managed accounts have exploded in the muni market in recent years but high-yield SMAs remain rare.

Most of Thursday's issuance came from competitive deals, the largest being the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York with $2 billion-plus and California with $889 billion.

The bonds, which are expected to sell soon, are rated A1 by Moody's Ratings.

The series 2025B Black Belt Energy Gas District bonds are rated Baa1 by Moody's Ratings based on Deutsche Bank's key role in the transaction.

Wednesday marked the first trading session that saw cuts more than a basis point or two in spots since last week's extended selloff.

The slowdown of growth in the fourth quarter does not imply there is dwindling demand for munis, said Pat Luby, head of municipal strategy at CreditSights.

"While there has been some reported buying by relative value institutions amid higher ratios from the muni-centric price correction, the market as a whole may not rally this week," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

Hospital and health insurance operator UPMC's $735 million deal looks routine. But the volatile healthcare and insurance environments may disrupt that standard.