Global money market inflows surge as trade tariffs stoke slowdown fears

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Global money market inflows surge as trade tariffs stoke slowdown fears

, Reuters - 7:59 AM ET 4/4/2025 default

(Reuters) -Global money market funds saw massive inflows in the week ending April 2 as investors grew cautious over U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies, which are heightening fears of a global slowdown and prompting some economists to revise their recession projections upward.

Money market funds, often seen as safe havens during times of economic distress, attracted $30.26 billion in inflows during the week, as Trump introduced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, intensifying a trade war and amplifying fears of a global economic slowdown.

Meanwhile, global equity funds saw just $49 million in net purchases, a sharp drop from approximately $35.84 billion in net buying the previous week.

U.S. equity funds recorded net selling of $10.85 billion, reversing the prior week's $22.39 billion in inflows. In contrast, investors allocated $6.84 billion to European equity funds and $4.36 billion to Asian equity funds.

Global sectoral equity funds recorded net sales of $1.75 billion, led by outflows of $1.45 billion in tech and $1.35 billion in consumer discretionary sectors. Defensive sectors, however, fared better, with utilities attracting a notable $1.06 billion in net purchases.

Gold and precious metals commodity funds remained buoyant, securing inflows for an eighth consecutive week, with $1.06 billion added during the period.

Meanwhile, bond funds, recognized for their stability, drew a net $4.3 billion in inflows, extending their streak of net purchases to a second consecutive week.

Short-term bond funds saw a surge in demand, with investors pumping a net $5.02 billion into these funds, the largest amount in four weeks.

Data covering 29,591 emerging market funds revealed, investors ditched a net $660 million worth of equity funds for a fourth successive week of net sales. Bond funds, however, gained a net $1.07 billion in inflows following two weekly outflows in a row.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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