Municipal bond mutual funds had net outflows of $108 million in the week ended May 18, according to Lipper FMI.
Last week, when investors withdrew just $95 million from muni funds, it looked as though the market was finally primed for a week of positive inflows. But instead, this week marked the 27th in a row that investors pulled money out of funds that report their flows weekly.
Still, the pace of money leaving muni bond funds remained at a trickle. Just two weeks earlier, investors withdrew nearly $800 million.
Assets for funds that report weekly climbed to $316 billion, up from $314.1 billion in total assets in the week ended May 11. The value of the funds’ holdings rose by almost $2.1 billion as prices continue to climb for muni bonds due to a scarcity of new-issue supply. It was the seventh week in a row that net asset values gained.
Among all municipal bond mutual funds, the four-week moving outflow average was down to $395.6 million from $680.7 million the week before.
