Markets

After almost a decade of shrinking business and muddied prospects, the bond insurance industry ended 2013 having tackled at least one major milestone: get penetration back on the upswing.

State and local government revenue growth and expectations for higher interest rates last year were the main contributors to a 12.1% decrease in note issuance, municipal managers and analysts said.

Housing and development were growth sectors in the 2013 bond market as others fell sharply in the second half of the year.

New issue supply in the municipal market was down during 2013, largely driven by a major slowdown in refunding deals during the second half of the year.

The municipal market will see a small boost in issuance next week even as total volume remains low.

Puerto Rico bond yields rallied Wednesday and Thursday, in a sign of hope for a successful bond sale next month.

The weekly average yield to maturity of the Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index, which is based on 40 long-term bond prices, was down one basis point this week, at 4.88% for the week ending Feb. 6.

Municipal mutual funds gained $320.03 million of new cash in the week ended Feb. 19, Lipper FMI reported.

Tax-exempt money market funds posted $2.08 billion of outflows, reducing total net assets to $268.04 billion in the week ended Feb. 17, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

ETFs and mutual funds are well-positioned for rising interest rates because they have most of their fixed income holdings in short-term government bonds, according to Morningstar Inc.