US equity funds record nine-month high outflows as oil stokes inflation fears

U.S. equity funds came under heavy selling pressure in the week through September 9 ‌as the Iran war drove oil prices sharply higher, ‌heightening inflation fears and borrowing-cost concerns.

U.S. investors recorded net sales of $32.27 billion ​in equity funds during the week, their largest since $52.45 billion in disposals in the week to December 17, 2025, LSEG Lipper data showed.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures surged above July's ‌high of $93.50 a barrel ⁠earlier in the week, reaching a four-month high of $104.46 on Friday and raising concerns that ⁠persistent inflation could prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as early as next week.

The U.S. producer price report ​released on ​Thursday, ahead of Friday's consumer ​price data, indicated that ‌inflation remained elevated in August.

U.S. large-cap funds posted record weekly outflows of $40.44 billion, while mid-cap funds recorded net sales of $682 million. In contrast, multi-cap funds attracted $3.52 billion and small-cap funds drew $274 million in inflows.

Investors also purchased $1.46 billion in U.S. ‌sectoral funds, led by technology, which ​attracted $1.71 billion, and financials, which gained $720 ​million.

U.S. bond funds recorded ​a 21st consecutive week of net purchases, ‌totaling $6.56 billion.

Short-to-intermediate investment-grade funds attracted $3.75 ​billion, their largest ​weekly inflow in nine weeks. Short-to-intermediate government and Treasury funds also recorded a notable $2.78 billion in weekly net ​purchases.

Meanwhile, investors withdrew $10.41 ‌billion from U.S. money market funds, following net purchases ​of about $48.76 billion the previous week.