NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bond fund manager Bill Gross on Tuesday said he had bought $1.5 billion of municipal bonds on Friday at what he called "very attractive" prices that have risen "substantially" since then.

The $2.6 trillion municipal bond market has become a bargain-hunter's delight because hedge funds and other players that use leverage were forced to sell billions of dollars of bonds last week.

Gross, who manages the $120 billion Pimco Total Return Fund, responded to Reuters in an email. He declined to provide the average yields he paid.

"We bought $1.5 billion on Friday at very attractive prices that have since improved substantially."

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