- He now expects a gain of as much as 15%, instead of 5%
- Issuance to near normal levels after ‘abnormally low’ period
A strong start to the year is stoking veteran municipal bond investor John Miller’s prediction for sales in the $4 trillion market for state and local government debt.
Municipal issuance will rise 10% to 15% to as high as $440 billion this year, the head and chief investment officer of the high-yield muni credit team at First Eagle Investments said. When the year started, he had expected a 5% increase to $400 billion but surging first-quarter sales led him to revise his estimates upward.
“So far we’ve come out of the gates a bit on the high end,” Miller said. “I am being influenced, I have to admit, by the first quarter.”
Bloomberg Markets
By Shruti Singh
April 18, 2024