News about municipal bonds

Municipal bonds gained at the short end on Wednesday, with yields down up to six basis points, as short-term U.S. Treasuries weakened slightly and equities rose. James Pruskowski of Hennion & Walsh said markets are growing more comfortable ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. ICI reported outflows of $6.908 billion for the week ending Oct. 14, after $5.536 billion the previous week, while ETFs drew inflows of $8.029 billion, their sixth straight week above $1 billion. In the primary market, Jefferies priced $887.48 million of Kentucky Public Energy Authority gas supply revenue bonds, and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York sold $1.616 billion of personal income tax revenue bonds across several series.

Municipal bonds firmed Tuesday as Treasuries rallied out long and equities ended mixed, with muni yields richening by up to seven basis points, mostly at the front of the curve. Chris Brigati of SWBC said the expected weakness from a larger new-issue calendar had not materialized, suggesting enough value and pent-up demand to absorb the bigger supply. He also described a notable Treasury shift, as high inflation data drove a flight to quality out of the AI trade, though underlying inflationary pressures remain. Municipal CUSIP requests rose 2.0% in September from August but fell 1.5% year-over-year, with Texas leading at 184 requests, followed by New York (175) and California (104). In primary sales, Jefferies priced $485.34 million of California State Public Works Board lease revenue bonds, and BofA Securities bought $475.42 million of Virginia Public Building Authority public facilities revenue bonds in a competitive sale.