Stronger inflows made their way into municipal bond mutual funds.
Those funds that report their flows weekly recorded inflows of $306 million for the week of May 8. That compares with $22 million in inflows for the week of May 8, when investors broke the streak of nine straight weeks of outflows to muni bond funds.
For the year to date through May 8, muni bond mutual funds are up $5.4 billion.
The municipal market closed a week of lackluster activity and performance against Treasuries.
The market saw relatively little activity in the secondary; retail investors, in particular, were quiet, traders said. A subdued primary reached the market with little fervor, yet was relatively well received. No deals arrived larger than $400 million.
Muni yields modestly underperformed those of Treasuries on the week from Friday, according to Municipal Market Data numbers. The triple-A 10-year yield ended the week from Friday flat at 1.81%.
The 30-year muni yield ticked up two basis points over the week to 2.95%. The two-year held at 0.28% for a sixth consecutive session.
Muni yields underperformed those of Treasuries beyond the front end of the curve. Muni ratios to Treasuries in the intermediate to long end remain rich. They settled around 96% over the week from Friday, as they did the week prior.
Assets for all muni funds that report their flows weekly fell for a second straight week to $326.5 billion. The week prior, they reported $327.8 billion.
The value of the holdings for weekly reporting funds plummeted by $580 million. The week before, they fell by $745 million.
The four-week moving average for all municipal bond mutual funds that report their flows weekly was $41 million of outflows, compared to $252 million of outflows the week before.
Outflows continued for a 11th straight week for long-term bond funds that report their flows weekly, at $3.6 million, though they are decreasing noticeably. They reported $15 million of outflows last week.
For the year to date through May 8, just $1.2 billion has flowed into long-term muni bond funds.
High-yield muni funds recorded their first week of inflows in four weeks.
High-yield funds that report flows weekly saw $54 million in inflows, Lipper said. The previous week, they reported $69 million in outflows.
For the year to date through May 8, high-yield muni bond mutual funds have seen just $1.2 billion reach their sector of the market.
Assets for high-yield funds that report their flows weekly rose to $45.92 billion, up from $45.88 billion reported the week before.
The value of the holdings for weekly reporting high-yield funds fell by $28 million. Last week, they decreased by $79 million.
The four-week moving average for all high-yield municipal bond funds that report their flows weekly showed $44 million of outflows, rising slightly from $52 million of outflows the week before.
