Markets

Tax-exempt money market funds saw only moderate outflows as investors yanked a mere $252.5 million in the week ended April 4, causing total net assets to dip slightly to $319.05 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

A $1 billion financing for the North Texas Tollway Authority, a $500 million offering from the New York Transitional Finance Authority and a pair of Colorado deals will lead the still-paltry new-issue activity in the municipal bond market.

Tax-exempt municipal money market funds lost nearly $3 billion in the week ended March 28 as total net assets fell to $319.30 billion, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

The downturn in property tax receipts for municipal governments may finally have begun.

Despite volatility in the municipal market, sales of individual tax-free bonds to retail investors have been brisk even as cash withdrawals from muni mutual funds are still high, experts say.

Households surpassed their previous record and hit a 20-year high as they hoarded $1.095 trillion of the nearly $3 trillion of outstanding municipal bond debt issued by states and local governments as of 2010, according to data recently released by the Federal Reserve.

After a brief bounce in volume last week, the municipal market could be lulled back into its recent slumber as only $1.93 billion is expected to be priced in the primary this week, according to Ipreo LLC and The Bond Buyer.

Tax-exempt money market funds gained a bit, reversing last week’s losses by generating $137.8 million of new cash and pushing total net assets to $322.2 billion in the week ended March 21, according to the Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.