After two weeks of decline, total money market mutual fund assets increased by $2.86 billion to $2.659 trillion in the week ended Wednesday, Feb. 15, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Total assets had fallen slightly in the prior week, from $2.657 trillion to $2.656 trillion. But total U.S. money market mutual fund assets fell $21.3 billion in the week ended February 1, ICI previously reported.

In the latest report, government funds decreased by $7.35 billion, taxable non-government funds increased by $11.53 billion, and tax-exempt funds decreased by $1.33 billion.

Assets of retail money market funds decreased by $5.04 billion to $920.44 billion.

Assets of institutional money market funds increased by $7.90 billion to $1.739 trillion.

ICI reports money market fund assets to the Federal Reserve each week.

Tom Steinert-Threlkeld writes for Securities Technology Monitor.

Tom Steinert-Threlkeld is editorial director of the Money Management Group at SourceMedia. He oversees the Web and print operations of Money Management Executive, Mandate Pipeline, and Securities Technology Monitor. He also advises the Web operations of FInancial Planning, On Wall Street and Bank Investment Consultant. He was vice president of the Enterprise Group of Ziff Davis Media, where he founded Baseline magazine and was editor of Interactive Week. He also has extensive background in metropolitan daily news at The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Texas. More recently, he served as editorial director of Broadcasting and Cable as well as Multichannel News magazines for Reed Business Information.