Municipal bond mutual funds again posted solid inflows in a week of modest new issuance that saw a backup in yields.
Muni bond funds saw $805 million of inflows from funds that report their flows weekly for the week ended May 16, according to Lipper FMI.
The numbers dropped slightly from those of last week. There were net inflows of $901 million the week ended May 9. The market has now seen positive flows for 34 out of the past 37 weeks.
Following on the heels of new record-low yields, demand for intermediate- and long-term munis faltered this week. On the week, the 10-year and 30-year triple-A yields each rose at least six basis points since last Friday, according to Municipal Market Data numbers.
Demand for long-term bond funds remained strong, though down somewhat from flows recorded the previous week. Long-term muni funds that report their flows weekly rose $438 million.
Intermediate muni bond funds also recorded inflows that narrowly missed last week’s numbers. Those funds that report their flows weekly saw inflows of $162 million, against $173 million the previous week.
This week, assets for all funds that report their flows weekly ticked up to $296.68 billion from $296.67 billion the previous week.
The value of the holdings for weekly reporting funds plunged by $430 million. The week before, they soared by $1.45 billion.
The four-week moving average for all municipal bond mutual funds that report their flows weekly saw a $653 million inflow, up from a $491 million gain the week before.
High-yield muni funds had another robust week. They have seen inflows for 22 of the previous 23 weeks.
Funds that report weekly saw $228 million in inflows, Lipper said. The previous week, high-yield funds reported $258 million in inflows.
Assets for high-yield funds that report their flows weekly rose to $39.81 billion, up a touch from $39.63 billion the previous week.
The value of the holdings for weekly reporting funds decreased by $47.3 million. Last week, they jumped by $268 million.
The four-week moving average for all high-yield muni bond funds that report their flows weekly was a $212 million inflow, up from a $186 million inflow the week before.
