The national financial crisis has begun to hit home. The city announced last week that in balancing last year’s budget, its relatively high credit rating had withstood the difficult economy. But no matter — the city still has to put off selling its bonds because the municipal bond market has almost come to a complete standstill.

“There is basically too much volatility and very little liquidity for buyers to commit,” the city’s Philadelphia-based advisors noted in a City Hall press release. Unwilling to accept interest rates set 50-60 basis points higher, the bonds sales will likely be postponed at least two weeks.