Global bond funds see highest inflow in 9 weeks

Investments into global bond funds surged to the highest in nine weeks, as a rally in U.S. bond yields abated somewhat on investor views that market pricing based on an earlier-than-expected tightening by the Federal Reserve was too aggressive.

Global bond funds received $20.85 billion in the week, the most in nine weeks.

The yield on U.S. 5-year notes, which typically reflects investor views on interest rate expectations, has fallen over 6 basis points after hitting 14-month highs on Monday.

Global equity funds also obtained inflows of $10.2 billion, bolstered by strong manufacturing data around the world and a drop in bond yields.

Technology funds led equity fund inflows in the week, with net buying worth $1.73 billion, the biggest in three weeks.

Meanwhile, global money market funds saw net purchases of $47.8 billion in the week, with European money market funds alone accounting for about $36 billion worth of inflow, as investors turned cautious due to fresh lockdowns in some parts of Europe.

Among commodity funds, precious metal funds faced $642 million in outflows, a ninth straight month of outflows.

An analysis of 23,817 emerging-market funds showed bond funds saw $2.5 billion in inflows, the biggest in eight weeks, while equity funds attracted $1.6 billion, a 35 per cent drop from the previous week.