Primary bond market

Thanks to strong technicals and the anticipated interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its September meeting, municipal bonds posted positive returns of 0.87% in August, reversing their losses of 0.20% in July, according to Jason Wong, vice president municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

Issuance for the week of Sept. 2 is at an estimated $7.457 billion, with $6.179 billion of negotiated deals and $1.278 billion of competitive deals on tap, according to LSEG.

With the break in issuance this week, the market has firmed a bit, said Tim McGregor, managing partner at Riverbend Capital Advisors.

Paul Chatalas, director of capital markets for the state, said the six series of bonds drew "aggressive bids."

While issuance has been on a record pace this year, this week sees a slight slowdown in activity, caused by participants going on vacation, said Jeff Timlin, a partner at Sage Advisory.

In a 2-1 vote, county commissioners approved an Oct. 8 competitive general obligation bond sale to keep funding a jail project amid escalating costs.

While issuance is up year-over-year, weeks like this can be difficult to find the right deals, said Whitney Fitts, director of municipal portfolio management at Appleton Partners.

Proceeds of the sale are expected to fund the purchase of the non-gambling businesses at Genting Group's Resorts World Catskills in Sullivan County.

"We expect subdued activity again [this] week heading into the Labor Day holiday," Birch Creek strategists said.

The relative rarity of the credit was compounded by their source of funds, the deal's size, and bond ratings slightly lower than New York state and city.