High yield bond issuance in the U.S. totaled $26 billion in April, down from $34 billion in March. One reason for the decline: Issuer efforts to refinance existing debt tailed off sharply even as yields in the asset class reached new lows.

At $9.4 billion, refinancing of existing bonds and other debt through the issuance of new high-yield paper was at its lowest monthly pace since June, down from more than $25 billion in March. As a proportion of total April issuance of $26.1 billion, it was the lowest since December 2011, at 36%.

Year-to-date bond U.S. bond issuance totals $120 billion – Jon Hemingway