US money market fund assets increased for an eighth straight week, bringing the total to the highest level in more than nine years as investors have been shifting cash into low-risk funds on trade worries, a private report released on Wednesday showed.
US money fund assets grew by $3.45 billion to $3.137 trillion in the week ended June 18, the Money Fund Report said. During this eight-week span, total fund assets increased by $127 billion. Investors' caution about global trade tensions and their impact on economic growth persisted even as US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Japan next week.
It is unclear when formal US-China trade negotiations will restart but the United States is "certainly willing to engage" in the discussions, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
Taxable money market fund assets rose by $4.11 billion to $3.002 trillion, the highest level since September 15, 2009, while tax-free assets decreased by $666.30 billion to $134.52 billion, according to the report, published by iMoneyNet.
The iMoneyNet average seven-day simple yield for taxable money funds fell to 1.99%, the lowest level since December 25, from 2.01% last week.