Money market fund assets fall by $4.1 billion

Total U.S. money market mutual fund assets fell by $4.08 billion to $2.68 trillion for the week that ended Wednesday, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Assets in the nation's retail money market mutual funds increased by $170 million to $916 billion, the Washington-based mutual fund trade group said Thursday. Assets of taxable money market funds in the retail category fell $330 million to $721.31 billion. Tax-exempt retail fund assets rose by $500 million to $194.69 billion.

Assets in institutional money market funds fell by $4.25 billion to $1.764 trillion. Among institutional funds, taxable money market fund assets fell by $4.81 billion to $1.687 trillion. Assets of tax-exempt funds rose by $570 million to $76.23 billion.

The seven-day average yield on money market mutual funds was unchanged at 0.01 percent from the previous week, according to Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet Inc. in Westborough, Mass. The seven-day compounded yield was flat at 0.01 percent.

The 30-day yield and the 30-day compounded yield were both unchanged at 0.01 percent, Money Fund Report said Wednesday.

The average maturity of portfolios held by money market mutual was unchanged at 46 days from the prior week.

The online service Bankrate.com said its survey of 100 leading commercial banks, savings and loan associations and savings banks in the nation's 10 largest markets showed the annual percentage yield available on money market accounts was unchanged from the week before at 0.11 percent.

The North Palm Beach, Fla.-based unit of Bankrate Inc. said Wednesday that the annual percentage yield available on interest-bearing checking accounts remained steady at 0.05 percent.

Bankrate.com said the annual percentage yield on six-month certificates of deposit was unchanged from a week ago at 0.15 percent. One-year CD yields were also flat at 0.23 percent, and the yield on two-year CDs was unchanged at 0.37 percent. The five-year yield was unchanged at 0.80 percent.