Duke, Ameren Illinois sell bonds; supply thin ahead of elections; Rentenbank eyes deal

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Nov. 5 – Two utility issuers tapped the high-grade primary market on Monday in what was an otherwise quiet session.

Duke Energy Carolinas LLC priced a $1 billion offering of green first and refunding mortgage bonds in two parts following a roadshow and fixed-income investor calls last week.

Ameren Illinois Co. sold $500 million of long 30-year first mortgage bonds.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank plans to price a dollar-denominated offering of five-year global notes.

High-grade market sources expect about $15 billion to as much as $30 billion of issuance this week, though deal windows will be fewer with the mid-term U.S. elections on Tuesday, conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting on Thursday and the upcoming Veterans Day holiday weekend.

No major policy changes are expected from the Federal Reserve since the meeting will not include a press conference, but the potential for a rate hike is December is growing, a source said.

Investment-grade issuers priced more than $19 billion of bonds last week.

For November, syndicate sources expect about $75 billion to $85 billion of supply on average with the potential for as much as $120 billion of new issuance.

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