UST strength boosts munis

Munis grew slightly firmer Monday, as U.S. Treasuries rallied in the belly and out long and equities were mixed.

Muni yields fell up to three basis points, depending on the scale. UST yields fell by five to nine basis points, with the strongest gains in the five- to 30-year portion of the curve.

The rally in USTs reflected easing inflation concerns, according to Jeremy Holtz, portfolio manager at Income Research + Management, as oil prices declined 4% by midday Wednesday. The good day for USTs boosted munis, which had cheapened slightly the previous day, he said.

"The secondary market has firmed [since Tuesday], but munis are not rallying to the same degree as the Treasury market," Holtz said via email. "Strong demand continues to support heavy supply as elevated yields still offer attractive value. Year-to-date fund inflows are on track for their second-strongest first-half performance on record."

ICI data
The Investment Company Institute Wednesday reported inflows of $1.233 billion for the week ending June 17, following $1.776 billion of inflows the previous week. Inflows have topped $1 billion each of the past nine weeks.

Exchange-traded funds saw inflows of $1.799 billion after $655 million of inflows the week prior, per ICI data.

New-issue market
In the primary market Wednesday, Wells Fargo (WFC) priced for Los Angeles (MIG 1/SP-1+//) $1.442 billion of 2026 tax and revenue anticipation notes, with 5s of 6/2027 at 2.75%, noncall.

In the competitive market, Georgia (Aaa/AAA/AAA/) sold $1.57 billion of general obligation bonds across five series. Georgia sold $279.065 million of Series 2026A Bidding Group 1 bonds, to J.P. Morgan, with 5s of 7/2027 at 2.32%, 5s of 2031 at 2.67% and 5s of 2036 at 3.02%, noncall.

The second series, $341.445 million of Series 2026A Bidding Group 2 bonds, sold to J.P. Morgan, with 5s of 7/2037 at 3.10%, 5s of 2041 at 3.38% and 5s of 2046 at 3.82%, callable 7/2036.

The third series, $382.93 million of refunding Series 2026C Bidding Group 3 bonds, sold to BofA Securities, with 5s of 12/2026 at 2.30% and 5s of 2029 at 2.50%, noncall.

The fourth series, $407.195 million of refunding Series 2026C Bidding Group 4 bonds, sold to J.P. Morgan, with 4s of 12/2030 at 2.66%, 4s of 2031 at 2.75% and 4s of 2034 at 3.00%, noncall.

The fifth series, $160.46 million of Series 2026B taxable bonds, sold to J.P. Morgan, with 4s of 7/2027 at 3.84%, 4.25s of 2031 at 4.15%, 4.65s of 2036 at 4.54%, 4.86s of 2041 at par and 5.2s of 2046 at 5.24%, callable 7/2036.