(Bloomberg) -- U.S. investment-grade bond issuance is hitting $74 billion for this week, the most for any comparable period since records began in 1972. Thursday's $20 billion total adds to the $54 billion already sold, thrashing the week's forecast of $40 billion.
With a rally in Treasuries pushing the high-grade bond yield to a three-year low of just 2.77%, companies are borrowing cheap money now to refinance more expensive debt, spurred by a positive tone in global markets.
Thursday's haul includes food and beverage giant Mondelez International Holdings Netherlands BV and Agilent Technologies Inc. Financial firms are also active, with the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Standard Chartered Plc selling debt.
The prior record for investment-grade bond issuance was $66 billion in the week of Sept. 9, 2013 when Verizon Communications Inc. sold $49 billion of bonds in eight parts, the biggest company debt offering ever.
Despite the glut, secondary markets have rallied and borrowers have been able to raise more than initially targeted without paying up. Apple Inc. on Wednesday set out to get $4 billion to $5 billion before pricing a total of $7 billion in new bonds. Average new issue concessions were less than 3 basis points, down from 6 basis points on Tuesday, which was also a heavy issuance day.
The week's not over, though issuers generally stay away on a Friday, especially when there's a U.S. payrolls report.
To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Smith in New York at bsmith373@bloomberg.net;Michael Gambale in New York at mgambale2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Crombie at jcrombie8@bloomberg.net, Nikolaj Gammeltoft
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