Corporate bonds edge higher in average value

European corporate bonds edged higher in average value on Friday in quiet trade, while the pipeline of investment-grade deals continued to fill.
The FTSE Euro Corporate Bond Index showed investment-grade corporate bonds in euros yielding an average 56.4 basis points more than similarly dated government bonds at 1501 GMT, 0.2 basis points less on the day.
"It's been a struggle today. Spreads are maybe a touch tighter, maybe because the US is coming in one or two (basis points) tighter," said a bond trader in London.
The auto sector was one to two basis points tighter, with General Motors' 8.375 percent euro bond due July 2033 at 272 basis points over German Bunds at 1420 GMT.
In the primary market, Friday saw news of the first benchmark euro bond issue from an investment-grade rated telecoms operator since Telecom Italia offered 3.0 billion euros in a multi-tranche deal in mid-January.
Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, the world's biggest telecoms group by revenue, will launch a seven-year bond of 500 million euros on Tuesday, a banking source said on Friday.
Citigroup and BNP Paribas are lead managing the deal for NTT, the source said.
NTT is rated towards the top end of the credit curve. It has an AA- rating from Standard & Poor's and Aa2 from Moody's Investors Service. The company recently met investors on a roadshow although at that time a deal was not yet certain.
Investors in asset-backed bonds will have a rare opportunity to gain exposure to Greek mortgages in the coming weeks.
EFG Eurobank, Greece's third largest savings bank by assets, will sell a 750 million euro residential mortgage-backed securitisation (RMBS) in mid-June, a senior bank official said on Friday.
Roadshows are running in Europe from Monday, with pricing scheduled for June 7-8.
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Eurobank subsidiary Telesis Finance are lead managing the bond sale, which will be made up of three tranches.
The three tranche bond sale will consist of a 693.5 million euro tranche rated top notch AAA; a 32 million euro tranche rated A; and a 24.5 million euro tranche rated BBB.