Secondary bond market

Short-end muni yields have risen more than 30 basis points on some triple-A scales over the past five trading sessions.

Returns are deep in the red with the Bloomberg Municipal Index at negative 1.85%, while high-yield sits at negative 1.81%.

The statement offered no surprises, but Fed Chair jerome Powell's refusal to denounce more hawkish scenarios hurt market sentiment.

Triple-A benchmarks were cut two to six basis points across the curve with the largest moves concentrated again on bonds inside 10 years, underperforming Treasuries once again.

Munis are expected to underperform for another few weeks as markets remain volatile and investors reevaluate allocations.

The combination of steady supply, heavy secondary selling and inconsistent demand have moved yields to their highest levels since May 2020.

Refinitiv Lipper reported $238.926 million of outflows, but $182.035 million of inflows to high-yield, reversing last week's outflows. New-issues faced concessions.

The Investment Company Institute reported a large drop of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds at $142 million in the week ending Jan. 12, down from $1.413 billion in the previous week.

The 2-, 5- and 10-year UST is higher than before the pandemic began as investors factor in a rate hike as soon as March.

The largest deal of the week comes from the New York City Transitional Finance Authority with $950 million of exempts and $250 million of taxables.

For investors in the municipal bond market, 2021 proved to be a year of hurdles. This is likely to change, particularly for investors in the municipal bond market.

The primary led Thursday's firmer tone while Chicago schools faced 10 to 20 bp penalties compared to price talk, signifying investors are being more selective and demanding more in the new higher-yield range.

Supply is beginning to roll in and the primary action on Wednesday provided more direction. ICI reports $1.4 billion of inflows.

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell would not commit to timing for liftoff, stressing decisions would be data-based and the Fed will not allow inflation to become entrenched.

Pressures from inflation concerns and broader rising rates weigh on munis in the second week of 2022.

Munis followed UST weaker while stocks sold off after the employment report, which offered many messages. Analysts believe the bottom line is the Fed will liftoff in March.

The Federal Reserve expects Omicron to fizzle in weeks, and while pandemic-related risks remain, the economy is strong and the Fed needs to address inflation and could liftoff as soon as March, Bullard says.

ICI reported $1.101 billion of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the last week of 2021. Refinitiv Lipper figures on Thursday may give a sense of investor sentiment for week one of 2022.

The U.S. Treasury selloff caught up to tax-exempts with two to three basis point cuts to scales, but munis still outperform.

Municipals triple-A benchmarks continue the trend of ignoring other markets to start 2022. The new year will likely usher in slower growth and continued inflationary pressures, analysts said.