Global equity fund outflows hit nine-month high on inflation fears

Sept 18 (Reuters) - Global equity funds recorded their largest weekly outflow in nine months in the week through September 16, as a surge in oil prices heightened inflation concerns and expectations of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase added to investor caution.

Investors withdrew a net $23.21 billion from global equity funds, the biggest weekly outflow since December 17, 2025, LSEG Lipper data showed.

Crude oil prices climbed to four-month highs during the week, stoking inflation worries and pushing Treasury yields higher, weighing on growth-oriented funds.

The Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday and indicated that further increases may be needed to curb inflation fueled by higher energy costs linked to the war in Iran.

Investors withdrew a net $31.44 billion from US equity funds, a fourth consecutive week of outflows. During the same period, European equity funds recorded net outflows of $295 million, while Asian funds attracted net inflows of $6.26 billion.

Weekly inflows into equity sector funds climbed to a six-week high of $4.49 billion, led by technology, financials, and consumer discretionary funds, which attracted $1.94 billion, $1.31 billion, and $621 million, respectively.

Global bond funds attracted $855 million in inflows, the smallest weekly amount since April 1.

Investors withdrew $3.85 billion from high-yield bond funds and $1.1 billion from euro-denominated bond funds, while adding $2.96 billion to government bond funds and $1.96 billion to short-term bond funds.

Money market funds recorded outflows of $77.42 billion, ending a two-week streak of net purchases.

Among commodity funds, gold and other precious metals funds attracted $1.17 billion, marking their ninth weekly inflow in the past 10 weeks. Energy funds posted weekly outflows of $148 million, compared with an inflow of $211 million in the previous week.

In emerging markets, equity funds recorded a second consecutive week of outflows, totalling $1.61 billion.

Investors also withdrew $167 million from bond funds following six consecutive weeks of inflows, according to data covering 29,002 funds.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)