Munis end mostly flat to slightly cheaper as offerings price; Oklahoma City offers G.O. bonds

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, March 18 - Municipals were mostly unchanged Tuesday with some cheapness seen in spots, traders said.

Secondary action picked up, but there was a sense of caution in the market, one trader said in the early afternoon.

"There's some spotty cheapness, and we do seem to be range-bound," the trader said.

The market seemed to ignore Treasuries, which were improved as tensions in Ukraine continued.

Despite Russian president Vladimir Putin's insistence that no further military action will be taken in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, fears of instability made Treasuries more appealing, market insiders reported.

The five-year Treasury note closed out the session 3 basis points lower at 1.543%, and the 10-year note fell by 2.5 bps to 2.674%. The 30-year bond yield fell by a basis point to close at 3.621%.

Oklahoma City bonds price

Moving to the day's primary action, the Oklahoma City priced $92,185,000 of series 2014 general obligation bonds.

The bonds (Aaa/AAA/) were sold competitively. BofA Merrill Lynch won the bid at a 2.962067% true interest cost, said Kenton Tsoodle, assistance finance director for the city.

The bonds are due 2016 to 2034 with 2% to 5% coupons and 0.22% to 3.60% yields, according to a pricing sheet.

"The general obligation bonds were for streets, bridges, traffic control, drainage, parks and city facilities," Tsoodle said in an interview Tuesday.

Proceeds will also be used to finance the construction of new fire facilities, new police facilities and city maintenance facilities.

Clark County brings deal

In other primary activity, Clark County, Nev., sold $318.04 million of series 2014 airport system subordinate lien revenue bonds. The deal was upsized from $293.1 million.

The offering included $96.07 million of series 2014A-1 AMT bonds and $221.97 million of series 2014A-2 non-AMT bonds, said a pricing sheet.

The 2014A-1 bonds are due 2014 to 2022 with a term bond due in 2024. The serial coupons range from 4% to 5%. The 2024 bonds have a 5% coupon and priced at 114.28.

The 2014A-2 bonds are due 2025 to 2036 with 4% to 5% coupons.

The bonds were sold through BofA Merrill Lynch.

Proceeds will be used to refund the county's series 2004A airport revenue bonds.

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