(Bloomberg) -- High-grade corporate bond sales in the US this year have climbed to the second-highest level on record as companies rush to take advantage of relatively affordable borrowing costs before the year ends.
Blue-chip companies have sold $1.417 trillion of high-grade bonds in the US this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. That volume surpasses 2021’s $1.411 trillion, before the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to tame inflation. The record for issuance was $1.75 trillion in 2020, when the US central bank cut rates back to zero to help stimulate the economy during the pandemic.
The average yield on a high-grade company bond was 5.25% on Friday, according to Bloomberg index data. That’s slightly below the mean for the high-grade index since mid-2022, when the Fed’s rate hiking campaign was just getting started. Companies have just handful of days left to sell bonds this year before markets slow down around US Thanksgiving and December holidays like Christmas.
There are factors that could boost borrowing costs in 2025, including President-elect Donald Trump being inaugurated and launching policies like tariffs that could boost inflation. Another factor spurring issuance is risk premiums, or spreads, which have fallen to close to their lowest levels in a quarter century, allowing companies to borrow relatively cheaply compared with Treasuries.
“The window of time before the holidays begin is narrowing quickly,” said Scott Kimball, chief investment officer at Loop Capital Asset Management. “Market sentiment is decent, rates have stabilized and credit spreads are still near their multi-year tights.”
Nine companies tapped the US investment-grade bond market on Monday, selling more than $11 billion of notes, according to Bloomberg data. Morgan Stanley sold $3 billion of bonds maturing in 31 years, while General Mills Inc., known for cereal brands such as Cheerios, raised funds for its acquisition of the North American unit of Whitebridge Pet Brands. Syndicate desks are expecting $20 billion to $25 billion of issuance this week.
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The debt binge is not limited to only investment-grade. In the leveraged loan market, 17 issuers launched offerings totaling $31.5 billion on Monday, adding to an already busy year as borrowers look to refinance and reprice existing loans.
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