Muni bond mutual funds followed a one-week hiccup with more inflows.
For the week ended April 18, muni bond funds saw $159 million of inflows from funds that report their flows weekly, according to Lipper FMI.
Muni bond funds saw their inflow numbers thin almost steadily for more than a month. By last week, which ended April 11, there were net outflows of $57.2 million. Before that, the market experienced 18 consecutive weeks of inflows, and 29 weeks in positive territory out of the past 31.
Munis had a strong week. Issuance rose, and investor demand was sufficient to absorb the volume.
Treasury yields fell on the week. But those of munis fell more, pushing ratios to Treasuries down and giving the market a firm and positive tone.
This week, assets for funds that report their flows weekly increased to $291.3 billion from $290.7 billion the previous week.
The value of the holdings for weekly reporting funds rose by $413 million. The week before, they leapt by $1.35 billion.
The four-week moving average for all municipal bond mutual funds that report their flows weekly experienced a $149 million inflow, up from a $131 million gain the week before.
High-yield muni funds continued their hot hand. They have been positive for 18 of the previous 19 weeks.
Funds that report weekly saw $124.2 million in inflows, Lipper said. The previous week, high-yield funds reported $119.5 million in inflows.
Assets for high-yield funds that report their flows weekly increased to $38.26 billion, up slightly from $38.03 billion the previous week.
The value of the holdings for weekly reporting funds rose by almost $101 million. Last week, they rose by $170 million.
The four-week moving average for all high-yield muni bond funds that report their flows weekly was a $103 million inflow, up from a $69 million inflow the week before.
