(Reuters) – U.S. municipal bond sales totaled $27.8 billion in November, pushing 11-month volume to $278.3 billion, just 3.3 percent less than the same period in 2013, according to Thomson Reuters data on Wednesday.
November sales of debt by states, cities, schools, hospitals and other issuers in the U.S. municipal bond market was down 20.4 percent from October, but 21.8 percent higher than in November 2013.
Refundings of outstanding bonds so far in 2014 totaled $155.9 billion, outpacing the sale of $122.4 billion of new debt. While the amount of refunded debt was running 1.7 percent over the same period in 2013, new money issuance was down 9 percent, Thomson Reuters reported.
Demand for munis has remained strong with U.S. muni funds reporting net outflows in only six weeks so far this year, according to Lipper, a unit of Thomson Reuters.
(Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
CHICAGO Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:03am EST